Inmates at Bowden Institution hope to walk 2,000 kilometres to help Ugandan farmers fight hunger.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, inmates will walk around the prison yard, aiming to walk the equivalent of 2,000 kilometres — or about 3,700 laps around the yard.
Community members are invited to make pledges to sponsor the walk. The pledges won’t be for specific walkers, but will be applied to the project as a whole.
“When members of the outside community join us in our efforts through the walk-a-thon, it is a validation that we too are a valued member of the church and the body of Christ,” says a prisoner who has participated in past events.
“We become encouraged, enriched, and humbly blessed.”
Proceeds from the walk-a-thon will go toward helping farmers in Uganda, who struggle to provide for their families because of the harsh conditions for growing crops.
Through a project of Canadian Foodgrains Bank member World Renew, the Ugandan farmers are supported in learning ways they can maximize water usage on their land and improve the fertility of their soil.
Through the project, 2,380 Ugandan farmers are now growing successful crops. Through the support of savings and loan programs, many are also able to pay for their children to attend school.
The last walk-a-thon at Bowden Institution in support of the agencies took place in 2017, with the inmates raising $26,000.
To donate toward the Bowden walk-a-thon, please visit www.worldrenew.net/bowden.