KENNEBUNKPORT - Thirteendays into their "Walk for Water,"Esu and Ina Anahata found them-selves in the surprising position ofbeing able to plead their cause to aworldwide celebrity: formerPresident George H. W. Bush.

Bush - the 41st president andfather to the 43rd PresidentGeorge W. Bush - was greetingpeople at the KennebunkportMemorial Day parade when theAnahatas approached him withinformation on their mission todraw attention to the need for cleanwater in the western African nationof Burkina Faso.

"He said he's been there," EsuAnahata said. "He said he hadbusiness interests there."

The encounter with Bush was justone of the many the Anahatashave had since beginning theirwalk May 11 outside of the UnitedNations in New York. Sunday foundthem arriving in Kennebunk, wherethey were hosted by the UnitarianUniversalist Church.

"We had a wonderful welcome bythe community," Esu Anahata said,adding that cars passing honkedtheir horns and dozens of peoplecame out to greet them.

The Anahatas are being led in theirwalk by Danny Garcia, known asthe "Walking Man" for his travelsaround the world for the past 13years. Garcia said he's walkedmore than 25,000 miles in that timein his quest for world peace. On

Monday, he walked in theKennebunkport parade along withfellow veterans as the Anahatasfollowed behind, filming him.

All of it is part of their project tohelp build wells in Burkina Faso,Esu Anahata said, to help eradi-cate the extreme poverty there.The Anahatas have made it theirlife's work, even establishing thenonprofit Barka Foundation(www.barkafoundation.org), withchapters in Massachusetts andBurkina Faso.

"It's all about creating connec-tions," Esu Anahata said of theirwork.

The Anahatas are creating thoseconnections throughout Maine,continuing their journey throughPortland, Auburn, Augusta,Waterville, Newport and finallyBangor, where they will end theirjourney May 30. It will be a home-coming of sorts for Ina, Esa said,since she lived outside of Bangorfor 30 years. And the couple lovesMaine, he said, for its "progressive,activist orientation."

That feeling meshes well with whatthe couple is trying to achieve.

"It's a tremendous grassrootseffort," Esu said.

“Walk for Water” brings coupleto Kennebunkport, meetingwith former presidentBy Laura Dolce, ldolce@seacoastonline.com

May 28, 2009 6:00 AM

Esu and Ina Anahata of the BarkaFoundation, seen shortly after meetingformer President George Bush on Monday,are walking from the United Nations inNew York to Bangor to raise awarenessof the need for clean water in Africa.

YORK, Maine - This past MemorialDay weekend, a former Marine anda Massachusetts couple walked inhonor of the memory of those fromthe impoverished African nation ofBurkina Faso who died from malnu-trition. The group continues to workto provide a means by which tosave others from Burkina Faso.

Esu and Ina Anahata, founders ofthe Barka Foundation, and formerMarine Danny Garcia, who haswalked more than 25,000 milesaround the world in support of chil-dren and families, teamed up toembark on the Peace, Water andWisdom Walk to bring drinkingwater to the people of BurkinaFaso.

On Sunday, they stopped inPortsmouth, N.H., en route from theUnited Nations in New York City toBangor, Maine, a 500-mile walk thattook them through Kittery and Yorkto Kennebunk, where they met for-mer President George H.W. Bushand participated in Monday'sMemorial Day parade.

The walk raises funds and aware-ness for the Barka Foundation'swork in Burkina Faso, ranked 173

of 179 countries on the HumanDevelopment Index. Barka is anAfrican word meaning "thank you."

"We're planting seeds along thiswalk," said Esu. "And the responsehas been amazing. People reallyget it. Maine and New Hampshirehave got it. They're revved up."

What they're revved up about ishelping the foundation to installwells in villages in Burkina Faso.Esu said when a village has wellwater, women don't have to walkmiles each day to a river to collectwater of questionable safety; thewell water can be used for irrigationto help the villages' prosperity, live-stock survives and diseasedeclines.

"We're connecting with peoplealong the route over issues of cleanwater," he said. "People really wantto help. They want to see a positivechange in the world, and they wantto be a part of the change."

As each well costs $10,000, Esusaid, the walks are important tofund-raising.

While in Portsmouth on Sunday,walkers attended South Church, aUnitarian Universalist congregation.UU churches provided support anda place to stay for walkers, Esusaid. He said he and his wife planto return to Portsmouth at somepoint to work with local schoolchild-ren, as education is another goal ofthe foundation.

Esu said the people of BurkinaFaso have much to teachAmericans "about sustainability,community - things we've forgottenalong the way."

"We're feeling a deep need to bringthe wisdom of ancient Africa to theUSA," he said. "That's the wisdompart of the walk. As for the peacepart, you can't have peace if youdon't have water. You can't havepeace if you don't have the basicsfor survival."

Foundation leads walk throughSeacoast to help African nationBy Deborah McDermott, dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com

May 27, 2009 6:00 AM

TO HELP

Donations can be made through the Barka Foundation at www.barkafoundation.org. To learn more, visit www.globalwalk.cc.

Esu and Ina Anahata of the BarkaFoundation, seen shortly after meetingformer President George Bush on Monday,are walking from the United Nations inNew York to Bangor to raise awareness ofthe need for clean water in Africa.

Friday, May 22, 2009 05:00 am

AUBURN - The Barka Foundation's 500-mile, 20-city Peace Water & Wisdom Walk will arrive herethe evening of Tuesday, May 26.

Through its 20-city Walk for Water tour, theBarka Foundation, based on Housatonic, Mass.,hopes to raise awareness about water as a basichuman right and the need for developing sustain-able solutions to address water scarcity in WestAfrica.

"Women in Barkina walk for miles every day toget water. When a village has a well, women cansustain micro business, girls can attend school,and irrigation leads to increased crop yield anddisease declines. It is the single most importantthing" that can be done to improve quality of life,according to a statement from the BarkaFoundation, founded by Ina and Esu Anahata.

Participants stepped off from the United Nationsin New York on May 11, and will finish their walkon May 30 in Bangor. Their path will take themthrough Danbury, Conn., Pittsfield, Mass.,Brattleboro, Vt., and Manchester, NH, beforearriving in Maine on Sunday.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., the First UnitarianUniversalist Church on Pleasant Street will showthe film, "Barka! Barkina," which documents theefforts of the Barka Foundation to establish awell in every village in Barkina Faso by 2015.

The evening will include performances by LeahWolfsong, Darlene Jarome and Godfrey Banda, anative of Zimbabwe.

The group will leave Auburn on Wednesday, May27, at 9 a.m. from their starting point at AuburnHall, and is scheduled to arrive in Augusta laterthat day.

Walk for Water coming to Auburn

For more information, go to www.barkafoundation.org

A procession of nonprofit workersand others will be walking throughthe Northwest Corner Friday topromote awareness and raisefunds for Burkina Faso, a destituteand water-deprived country inWest Africa.

Danny Garcia, an ex-Marine andordained minister who has walkedmore than 25,000 miles around theworld to benefit various causes,has partnered with BARKA, a non-profit group that has gotten behindthe cause. His first walk was onefrom San Francisco to New York,and after that, he just kept on walk-ing.

“When I finished the walk, I didn'tthink it was that hard. It was likeForrest Gump - I gave up every-thing I had,” he said.

Now, Garcia takes various walksfor all kinds of causes, and his lat-est endeavor has brought him tothe area. Garcia and others beganwalking from the United Nations inNew York City on May 11, and willend their trip in Bangor, Maine, onMay 30.

They reached Danbury onWednesday before walking toKent/New Preston area, where theBoulder's Inn provided them withtwo free rooms. On Friday, they willwalk up Route 7 through Kent,Cornwall, Canaan and NorthCanaan toward their next destina-

tion of Great Barrington,Mass.

Among those travelingwith Garcia are Esu andIna Anahata of BARKA,who have traveled toBurkina Faso, which isone of the poorestnations in the world,many times.

“We wanted to raisefunds and awarenessabout BARKA's work tomake clean water avail-able in Burkina Faso,”said Esu. “A friend at the U.N. con-nected us to Danny, and being thekind of guy he is, when he heardabout what we're doing, he saidlets do it.”

Money donated to the project willgo to help drill for water there,which will in turn make the countrymore able to sustain itself and lessdependent on foreign aid, said Ina.

Many women in the Burkina Fasowalk more than six miles a day toobtain water, including young girlswho cannot attend school becausethey are needed to help their moth-ers with the task, she said.

If a system if set up to provideclean and easily accessible water,disease will be better controlledand many will be able to becomebetter educated and successful,she added.

“They're able to become self-sus-taining, instead of just everyonekeeping on sending aid,” she said.“It all starts with water, if you don'thave water you don't have life, andif you don't have clean water youdon't have quality of life.”

The group who have been walkinghave been staying mostly withfriends along their trip, so rooms atthe Boulder's Inn were a great sur-prise, they said.

Donations to the cause can bemade by visiting Garcia's Web siteat www.globalwalk.cc or theBARKA Web site atwww.barkafoundation.org.

Dan Ivers can be reached by e-mail at editor@registercitizen.com.

Walkers to raise awareness,funds for Burkina FasoPublished: Friday, May 15, 2009

By DAN IVERS

\AUGUSTA, Maine - Danny Garcia, an ex-Marine andordained minister who has walked more than 25,000miles around the world to benefit world peace and chil-dren's causes, will be walking to Augusta onWednesday, May 27 and spend a complimentaryovernight at the Best Western Senator Inn and Spa.Garcia teamed up with the BARKA Foundation to leadthe 500-mile Peace, Water & Wisdom Walk, startingfrom New York and ending in Bangor, Maine. The walkis a campaign to raise awareness about the importanceof making clean water available to the rural population inBurkina Faso, West Africa. Garcia will enjoy a compli-mentary spa service and overnight in one of the SenatorInn's spa suites.

"We are pleased to support this grassroots effort to bringattention to the critical need for clean water in countrieslike Burkina Faso," said David Hopkins, general manag-er for the Senator Inn and Spa. "Mr. Garcia and theBARKA Foundation's efforts are to be applauded andthe Senator Inn staff is looking forward to hosting thishonored guest."

After his overnight at the Senator, Garcia will continuehis walk north to Waterville. For more information on thePeace, Water & Wisdom Walk, please visit

http://www.globalwalk.cc/; to learn more about theBARKA Foundation, please visit http://thebarkafounda-tion.org.

The Best Western Senator Inn & Spa is an Augusta,Maine based hotel committed to health and relaxation.The Senator Inn & Spa is a full-service getaway thathouses the award-winning Cloud 9 Restaurant, offeringall-natural, local, and organically certified dishes that areas healthy as they are delicious. A 123-room property,the Senator Inn & Spa includes popular banquet facili-ties voted the area's best for the past 13 years. A full-service spa features a saltwater lap pool, state-of-the-artgym and fitness studio, a spa Boutique and 10 treatmentrooms for spa services including massage therapy,facials, body treatments, pedicures, manicures and hairsalon services. A member of the Green HotelAssociation, the Senator Inn & Spa is a designatedEnvironmental Leader, and pioneer in bans on smokingand trans fat. For more information, visit www.sena-torinn.com.

ContactAnna McDermott at Nancy Marshall Communications(207) 623-4177 ext. 204

Senator Inn to Host DannyGarcia Along 500-mile Peace,Water & Wisdom WalkReleased 5/26/09

BRATTLEBORO --In rural towns in the West Africannation of Burkina Faso, it’s not unusual for families towalk five or six miles to get their water.

That’s why Danny Garcia is willing to walk 600 miles tocall attention to the plight of people living in one of thepoorest nations in the world.

Garcia, a 64-year-old minister from Leesburg, Va.,teamed up with Ina and Esu Anahata, ministers whofounded of the Housatonic, Mass.-based BarkaFoundation, to walk from Burkina Faso’s mission at theUnited Nations headquarters in New York to theUnitarian Universalist Society in Bangor, Maine.

The route of what they call the "Peace, Water &Wisdom Walk" took them through Brattleboro onTuesday. On Wednesday, the 10th day of their 20-daytrek, they were bound for Peterborough, N.H.

Esu Anhata, 43, said Barka is an African word mean-ing blessing and gratitude. The Anhatas nonprofit foun-dation is working to raise money to help the 14 millionpeople who are without access to clean water inBurkina Faso build wells.

"So many good things can happen once a village getswater," he said. "Families don’t have to walk for miles,

and can do other productive work. There’s less dis-ease, so families are healthier. There’s water for irriga-tion, so families can grow more food. Whole villagescan thrive once they get clean water."

Walking long distances is nothing new for Garcia, anative of Spanish Harlem in New York and a formerMarine. Over the past decade, he estimates he’swalked more than 25,000 miles on five continents forvarious causes.

"Ina and Esu are doing a phenomenal thing," saidGarcia. "They asked me to help, and I’m happy to doit."

Ina Anahata, 55, said they’ve received plenty of sup-port during their walk, and said the people they’ve metin Brattleboro were particularly receptive to their mis-sion.

"This is a great town and we hope to build on the con-nections we made here," she said.

For more information about the Peace, Water &Wisdom walk and about the Barka Foundation’s effortsin Burkina Faso, visit www.barkafoundation.org.

Raising awareness step by stepBy RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT, Reformer Staff

NEWPORT/DEXTER (NEWSCENTER) --The African nation ofBurkina Faso is one the poorestcountries on earth. It’s not uncom-mon for women to walk severalmiles just to get water.

To illustrate the need for freshwater, members of the BarkaFoundation are walking throughMaine.

Ina and Esu Anahata began walk-ing on May 12th from the UnitedNations in New York.

Since then, they’ve covered nearlyfive hundred miles en-route to theirfinal destination of Bangor. Friday,the pair arrived in Newport.

They plan to arrive at the Bangorwaterfront at 4:30 on Saturdayafternoon. So far they’ve raisedmore than 25 thousand dollars forthe drilling of fresh water wells inthe african nation.

The Anahatas have been joined ontheir journey by Danny Garcia.

Garcia has spent the last 13 yearscircling the globe on foot.

He’s walked more than 25 thou-sand miles - hoping to spreadpeace.

When he arrived in Maine, Garciawent out of his way to meet withother peacemakers.

He spent the evening meeting withstudents from the "Maine Seeds ofPeace" program in Dexter.

The group met at the Brewster Inn,Garcia spent an hour answeringquestions about his travels and lis-tening to the students experiencesat the camp in Otisfield.

Garcia said he draws inspirationfrom the camp and the idea thatstudents from warring nations cancome together even if only for ashort time.

He added that informal meetingslike this, reassure him that he isn’tthe only person trying to make theworld a better place.

Garcia said after the Walk ForWater" he’ll take some time off.But, he is already planning a con-cert for peace in Washington D.C.next July and he will then embarkon another walk around the world.

Garcia says he hopes to host awalk with the campers from "Seedsof Peace" to promote their mission.

Walkers Highlight Need For WaterPosted By: Scott Sassone, Multimedia Journalist

The women of Burkina Faso in WestAfrica walk for miles every day to getwater.Now, the BARKA Foundation andDanny Garcia of Global Walk are walk-ing to help them.The Massachusetts- and Burkina-based nonprofit organized the Peace,Water and Wisdom Walk, a 500-milejourney through 20 cities to raise fundsto provide clean water for the peopleof Burkina.The small, arid country of roughly 14million people is listed as the third-poorest in the world.Ina and Esu Anahata, co-founders ofthe BARKA Foundation, and Garciapassed through Kennebunk onMonday and Portland on Tuesday,raising money and awareness for thepeople they consider family.Esu Anahata, also known as HowardRoss Patlis, said they traveled to thecountry in 2000 to learn the spiritualwisdom traditions of Africa.He said the experience changed him.“Our lives have been touched by thepeople of Burkina Faso,” Esu Anahatasaid.“There is a real bond of love andsense of family that we experiencedwith each other. They practice tradi-tions of healing and ways of being in

the world that we think are so impor-tant to the planet. When we wentthere, it wasn’t long before we feltcompelled to do something to helpchange their lives.”So far, they have raised an estimated$25,000.The foundation has enough money todrill the first well, said Ina Anahata, aMaine native who co-founded the non-profit in 2004.She said having clean water will sup-port agriculture, empower women tosustain micro-businesses and givechildren a chance to attend school.“We believe it is a human right foreveryone on this planet to haveaccess to clean water,” Ina Anahatasaid.“When they do, there will be less dis-ease. Nations won’t be sending moneyto take care of things that can betaken care of with water.”The foundation is working with theUnited Nations, government agenciesand communities throughout theNortheast to raise awareness of theircause.It reached out to Garcia, an ex-Marineand ordained minister who has walkedmore than 25,000 miles around theworld to benefit world peace and chil-dren’s causes.

On Monday, the group got a warmreception walking in a parade inKennebunk.Garcia said they are grateful for thesupport they have received.In Maine, businesses have donatedfree meals and hotel accommodations.“I walk and pray, and I trust in God.We started with nothing, and everystep of the way, people have donatedmoney,” Garcia said.“(Ina and Esu) are simple and realpeople. Something touched them to dothis. The bottom line of this walk islove.”The walk began in New York on May11.The trio will walk through Augusta,Waterville and Newport, and end theirjourney at the Unitarian UniversalistSociety in Bangor on May 30.Esu Anahata said Mainers’ supporthas been incredible.“We just got a $20,000 donation.People are stopping their Chevy trucksto give us $1, which means just asmuch,” he said.

Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:mcreamer@pressherald.com

Trio walking 500 miles for cleanwater in Africa The walk to raise funds and awareness for Burkina Faso began in New York andwill end in Bangor.by MELANIE CREAMER, Staff WriterMay 27, 2009

By

Dia

na B

owle

yB

DN

Sta

ffB

AN

GO

R D

AIL

YN

EW

S P

HO

TO B

YD

IAN

AB

OW

LEY

DE

XTE

R, M

aine

- H

e ha

s w

alke

d 50

0 m

iles

on fo

ot s

ince

May

11

to p

rom

ote

peac

e w

hile

rais

ing

fund

s fo

r the

Bar

ka F

ound

atio

n, a

n or

gani

zatio

n w

orki

ng to

pro

vide

wel

l wat

er to

resi

dent

s of

Bur

kina

Faso

in W

est A

frica

.D

anny

Gar

cia

of G

loba

l Wal

k, a

form

er M

arin

e w

ho h

as w

alke

d m

ore

than

25,

000

mile

s on

foot

acro

ss fi

ve c

ontin

ents

for p

eace

and

for v

ario

us h

uman

itaria

n pr

ojec

ts o

ver t

he y

ears

, end

ed h

is la

test

wal

k to

day

at th

e U

nita

rian

Uni

vers

alis

t Soc

iety

chu

rch

in B

ango

r. H

e ha

s ra

ised

abo

ut $

25,0

00 fo

r the

proj

ect.

Gar

cia,

who

sta

rted

his

wal

k at

the

Bur

kina

Fas

o E

mba

ssy

at th

e U

nite

d N

atio

ns in

New

Yor

k,st

oppe

d Fr

iday

at t

he B

rew

ster

Inn

in D

exte

r, w

here

he

met

with

mem

bers

of S

eeds

of P

eace

from

Dex

ter R

egio

nal H

igh

Sch

ool.

“I'm

alw

ays

wal

king

for c

ause

s. I

love

to w

alk

and

it gi

ves

me

an o

ppor

tuni

ty to

get

rid

of th

e ga

rbag

ein

my

min

d; it

's v

ery

refre

shin

g fo

r me,

” Gar

cia

told

the

stud

ents

. At t

he s

ame

time,

it g

ives

him

the

oppo

rtuni

ty to

edu

cate

peo

ple

abou

t his

hum

anita

rian

effo

rts a

nd to

spr

ead

peac

e an

d lo

ve, h

e sa

id.

Eve

rybo

dy th

at I'

ve m

et w

ants

to b

e lo

ved,

” he

said

.G

arci

a pr

aise

d th

e lo

cal m

embe

rs o

f See

ds o

f Pea

ce fo

r fos

terin

g go

od re

latio

nshi

ps a

nd e

ncou

rage

dth

em to

spr

ead

thei

r mes

sage

that

war

s sh

ould

end

and

pea

ce s

houl

d pr

evai

l.I w

ould

like

this

to b

e th

e be

ginn

ing

of s

omet

hing

,” G

arci

a sa

id o

f the

mee

ting

with

the

stud

ents

. He

urge

d th

em to

list

en to

peo

ple

and

not t

o be

con

cern

ed a

bout

mak

ing

mis

take

s.Th

e st

uden

ts w

ere

enco

urag

ed to

join

Gar

cia

in B

ango

r on

Sat

urda

y an

d to

atte

nd h

is J

uly

Four

th c

el-

ebra

tion

conc

ert i

n W

ashi

ngto

n, D

.C.

Gar

cia

and

his

fund

rais

ing

com

pani

ons

Ina

and

Esu

Ana

hata

of t

he M

assa

chus

etts

-bas

ed B

arka

Foun

datio

n w

alke

d in

to B

ango

r fro

m H

erm

on o

n S

atur

day

even

ing,

just

ahe

ad o

f a d

renc

hing

thun

der-

stor

m. A

crow

d of

abo

ut 5

0 w

ell-w

ishe

rs m

et th

em o

n M

ain

Stre

et b

y ne

ar th

e B

ango

r Wat

erfro

nt P

ark,

and

acco

mpa

nied

them

to th

e U

nita

rian

Uni

vers

alis

t Chu

rch

on P

ark

Stre

et.

BD

N w

riter

Meg

Has

kell

cont

ribut

ed to

this

repo

rt.di

anab

dn@

myf

airp

oint

.net

Wa

lke

r sh

are

s m

ess

ag

e w

ith D

ext

er,

Ban

go

r

Da

nn

y G

arc

ia o

f L

ee

sbu

rg,

Va

. to

ok

a b

rea

k F

rid

ay

nig

ht

at

the

Bre

wst

er

Inn

in

De

xte

r b

efo

re h

is f

ina

l le

g o

fh

is 5

00

-mile

wa

lk t

o r

ais

e f

un

ds

to p

rovi

de

wa

ter

for

Bu

rkin

a F

aso

in

We

st A

fric

a.

Th

ere

, G

arc

ia m

et

wit

hD

ex

ter

Re

gio

na

l H

igh

Sc

ho

ol

stu

de

nts

in

volv

ed

in

th

e l

oc

al

Se

ed

s o

f P

ea

ce

org

an

iza

tio

n,

inc

lud

ing

Mik

e E

llis

.

Mon Jun 1, 3:01 am ET

A charitable donation is being made by spiritualleader Supreme Master Ching Hai to The BARKAFoundation in support of the Peace, Water &Wisdom Walk designed to raise awareness andfunds about the need for clean water in BurkinaFaso. Funds will go toward BARKA's operatingexpenses and the drilling of the first "BARKAwell" in La Petite Village, Fada N'Gourma. TheBARKA Foundation focuses on clean water as away to achieve the UN's Millennium DevelopmentGoals in Burkina Faso. Excerpts from BARKA'sdocumentary film "BARKA! BURKINA" and LiveFootage from Peace, Water & Wisdom Walk tobe Featured on Supreme Master Television.Bangor, Maine (PRWEB) June 1, 2009 --Supreme Master Ching Hai has made a charita-ble donation to The BARKA Foundation in theamount of $20,000. This generous donation wasgranted in the midst of BARKA's Peace, Water &Wisdom Walk, a 500-mile, 20 city in 20 day jour-ney through 6 states starting at the UnitedNations in New York City and ending in Bangor,Maine.The objective of the "Walk for Water" is to raiseawareness and funds about the extreme need forclean water in Burkina Faso, West Africa, one ofthe world's poorest countries. The BARKAFoundation works both locally in the US andinternationally in Burkina Faso. Through creatingconnections with US-based schools, women'sassociations, faith-based organizations, busi-nesses, and civic and political leaders, BARKA ispioneering a grassroots model for joining handson the local level to work practically on interna-tional issues of poverty eradication, peace-build-ing and the preservation of the world's remainingindigenous cultures and their spiritual wisdom tra-ditions. Specifically, BARKA functions as a bridgeto indigenous communities in rural and urbanareas of Burkina Faso.Through its work and relations with the UnitedNations, The BARKA Foundation came to under-stand the centrality of water's role in the achieve-ment of the Millennium Development Goals. As away to raise funds for its clean water initiatives inBurkina Faso and to create relationships withnew communities in the northeastern US, itorganized the Peace, Water & Wisdom Walk.Joining the Walk for Water campaign is DannyGarcia, internationally known as the "WalkingMan", who has walked more than 25,000 mileson 5 continents for various causes over the past13 years. When Ina & Esu, BARKA's co-founders, told him of the urgent needs of the

people of Burkina Faso, and how women walk formiles every day to carry water to their families hefelt compelled to help. Danny agreed to do aWalk in order to raise funds for BARKA's effortsto address the problem both here in the USthrough education and awareness raising, and inBurkina directly through projects such as welldrilling, irrigation and water purification. "I waswalking from Greenfield, MA to Brattleboro, VTwhen Ina & Esu told me the news about thedonation from Supreme Master Ching Hai," saidDanny. "I began to cry and thanked God for thisgenerous expression of support.""Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude forSupreme Master Ching Hai's recognition of ourwork and the intense need that exists in BurkinaFaso. We are working in solidarity with her andSupreme Master Television to work toward a sus-tainable future for our children's children's chil-dren," said Ina & Esu.Through documentary filmmaking BARKA is ableto connect people, schools and organizationstogether in the US and Burkina Faso through anongoing 'filmic dialogue' in which entire communi-ties are able to be in conversation despite geo-graphic separation. At FESPACO, Africa's largestfilm festival, "BARKA! BURKINA" a feature-length documentary about BARKA's work pre-miered. Supreme Master Television will broadcastexcerpts of "BARKA! BURKINA" and feature livefootage of the Peace, Water & Wisdom Walk as itarrives in its final destination of Bangor, Maine onMay 30 at the Unitarian Universalist Society ofBangor, Maine where the $20,000 donation willbe presented to BARKA's co-founders.The funds will be used for BARKA's operationalexpenses and to drill its first well in Fada, theeastern region of Burkina Faso.

About Supreme Master TelevisionSupreme Master Television, founded by SupremeMaster Ching Hai, is a 24-hour free-to-air satelliteTV station with exclusive focus on uplifting newsand inspirational, constructive programming.Supreme Master Television offers audiences anew way to view television--in a constructivelight. From its live broadcasts of peace-buildingevents, to interviews with presidents, celebritiesand the extraordinary peace wishes of ordinarypeople, Supreme Master Television is a bridge forunderstanding through its features on the beautyof all nations and cultures.www.SupremeMasterTV.comQuote From the Supreme Master Ching Hai: Nowconcerning water: one serving of beef is 1200gallons; one serving of chicken, 330 gallons and

one complete vegan meal including tofu, rice,vegetables etc. is only 98 gallons. Now every-body was talking a lot about food shortage andwater shortage, the main cause is again, live-stock raising. That is not including the contamina-tion of most world bodies of water and relatedusages. We cannot afford it forever like this. Wehave to stop the meat consumption. We have tostop the meat, in order to even survive.

About Danny Garcia and Global WalkGarcia is 64 years old, a native of New York'sSpanish Harlem, a former Marine, former lawenforcement officer, and an ordained minister.The aims and purposes of all Danny's walksthroughout the world are the same: to facilitate,promote, and support the needs of children andtheir families, which include engaging in humani-tarian aid to victims of fire, poverty, flood, earth-quake, or war. On July 4th, 2009, a new chapterwill begin with a Peace Walk across the UnitedStates, South America and Asia. For more infor-mation, visit www.globalwalk.cc.

About The BARKA FoundationThe BARKA Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitableorganization based both in the US and in BurkinaFaso, West Africa. BARKA works with the supportof UN agencies, Burkina Faso and US govern-ments, and indigenous villages to eradicateextreme poverty, empower women, foster educa-tion and co-create a culture of peace and sus-tainability for the global village. On Peace Day2008, The BARKA Foundation unveiled theBARKA Burkina Consortium, an international col-lective of organizations working collaborativelytoward an innovative model to achieve the UN'sMillennium Development Goals (MDGs). BARKAand Consortium partner ZZYXEntertainment/Global Harmony are co-producingthe Peace, Water & Wisdom Concert andFestival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,September 19-21, 2009, to raise funds for theConsortium's "Clean Water for All" initiativedesigned to ensure a well in every village inBurkina Faso by 2015. BARKA is a member ofthe Culture of Peace Initiative, a project ofPathways To Peace.

PRESS CONTACTS:Ina & EsuThe BARKA FoundationP.O. Box 69Housatonic, MA 01236413-446-7466Email: InaAndEsu(at)BARKAfoundation.orghttp://www.barkafoundation.org

Supreme Master Ching Hai Donates $20,000 to TheBARKA Foundation for Water Initiative in Burkina Faso