Cross-country trek throws spotlight on water issues

BRUCE CROSBY

Editor

McCOOK, Neb. — Oppressive 100-degree weather forced James Leitner to stop for a few days in McCook over the weekend before resuming his walk from Princeton, N.J., to San Francisco to spotlight the problem of water insecurity in Tanzania.

It helped that McCook was officially the halfway point in his trek of 3,215 miles, coincidentally the same distance a Tanzanian living nine miles from a water source would have to walk each year just to get safe drinking water.

Leitner, 24, pulls 90 pounds of clean water in the cart behind him not only for his own use but as a reminder of the problem he is trying to highlight.

On his website, missioncleanwater.com, Leitner explained that his interest in the subject started in high school when he Googled “water issues” and found that a billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water.

That realization led him to dedicate his life to the cause, including a related college degree from the University of Delaware in May 2015, and running a monthly marathon, carrying 45 pounds of water for a year before setting off on his current effort.

Southwest Nebraska residents appreciate water issues, he said, and there has been no shortage of the “kindness of strangers.”

Leitner has raised $24,000 toward construction of wells in Tanzania and hopes to amass $75,000 by the end of his adventure.

His parents and friends are concerned for his safety but fully supportive. Plus, they can track his every move thanks to a GPS device in his backpack, he said.

More information is available at missioncleanwater.com.