Top Toronto Fundraiser Wins Trip To Uganda
Posted October 23, 2009 10:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ever wanted to know exactly where your fundraising dollars go?
A Toronto man is about to find out.
Harp Athwal has raised over $7,000 for the GuluWalk, a Canadian initiative to benefit children in northern Uganda.
That’s the most money collected by anyone in the country and as a reward, Athwal will be travelling to Uganda to see his efforts up close and personal.
“I wanted to educate my friends about the cause, tell them why I was participating in the walk, and ask them to help these kids enjoy the type of lifestyle that we take for granted,” he said.
“I am really excited to go to Uganda,” Athwal, who has never been to Africa, continued.
This year’s GuluWalk takes place on Saturday October 24 and there’s still time to sign up. The walk mimics the journey children in northern Uganda must make to find a safe place to sleep at night.
Young people in small villages face abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army, which has so far kidnapped thousands of children and displaced more than 1 million people in the region.
Children travel from their homes to the city of Gulu to sleep in safety, then walk back home in the morning.
The conflict has been raging for 23 years.
The GuluWalk began in Toronto in 2005, after two activists walked 12 kilometres each night for 31 nights to sleep at City Hall.
“It’s a critical moment,” stresses Adrian Bradbury, one of the cofounders of the walk. “Now more than ever, we need to make sure there are adequate programs to facilitate the rebuilding of the region and rehabilitation of this generation.”
GuluWalk Details
Date: October 24, 2009
Start Location: Lawrence Park
Start Time: 1pm
End Location: Queen’s Park
Athwal at last year’s walk.
