A Calgary group is pledging not to shower or bathe for one week in a bid to help a poor community in eastern Africa.

Members of Hydrogeologists Without Borders (HWB) are trying to raise $30,000 to drill a well for a school in the Matopeni slum on the edge of Nairobi, Kenya.

"With that water, they would be able to, number one, use their toilets, drink the water and also irrigate their crops. And they wouldn't have to buy the food to feed the children their lunch-hour meal," said the organization's co-founder and director Laurra Olmsted. HWB is a not-for-profit group devoted to improving water conditions in developing countries.

Olmsted said the purpose of Shower Strike 2011 is to raise awareness about the value of water.

"When you actually think about how it relates to people in developing countries who've never had a shower, who've never had the pleasure of turning a tap on, that's when it really gets to you. Because water's the basis of life," she said.

Olmsted said the new well will also allow the Kenyan community to sell excess water and vegetables, and use the proceeds to expand the local secondary school.

"We know the hot summer days in Calgary will take its toll, but we also know Team HWB believes in this school and the future of these children, so despite the sweat, Team HWB will be victorious in our goal ... and then we will shower. And what a glorious shower it will be!," said a blog entry on the group's website.