Kelowna News

More than 100 Okanagan Mission Secondary students, along with family members and friends, participated in the school’s fourth annual Gulu Walk Saturday morning.

Grade 10 student Hayley Manlove has helped to organize the walk under the leadership of her Social Justice teacher Katie Nault.

"Gulu Walk's goal is to raise much-needed funds to help children living in Gulu, Uganda who are at risk of being abducted to fight as child soldiers, as well as past child soldiers needing help to recover from their traumatic experiences," says Hayley.

"In order to support these amazing children, we will walk 13 kilometres. This distance is so important because it is the distance these children must walk daily, there and back, so that they can sleep in safe sleeping houses without the risk of being abducted."

Students have been collecting pledges for weeks and organizers will know the final fundraising total after the event.

The Gulu Walk was started by two Canadians in 2005 when they walked 12.5 kilometres into downtown Toronto to sleep in front of city hall. They did this for 31 days to mimic the lifestyle endured by the Acholi children of northern Uganda and to bring attention to their plight.

Link: Link to the Gulu Walk website