116,000 walk against hunger in Pader; Uganda leads world
Jun 04, 2006
THE northern Ugandan sun beat down mercilessly, but it did not stop them — for the 116,000 displaced people who joined a global walk against child hunger recently, a little heat is nothing.
By Vision Reporter
THE northern Ugandan sun beat down mercilessly, but it did not stop them — for the 116,000 displaced people who joined a global walk against child hunger recently, a little heat is nothing.
Forced to flee their homes by the 20-year conflict with rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, they now eke out an existence in crammed camps, where every day means a struggle to meet the most basic needs.
Their decision en masse to join the global advocacy event, Fight Hunger: Walk the World, took Uganda’s total number of walkers to 130,000 – the largest of any of the 118 countries that took part in the May21 event, organised by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its corporate partner TNT.
“This has made us feel part of WFP and fighting child hunger – we feel involved beyond just receiving food,†a Lira Palwo local leader said.
For people living in the camps, WFP food assistance is vital. Although the security situation has improved, some 90% of more than 1.5 million who have been displaced still cannot venture far enough away from the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to cultivate food.
WFP also reaches out to 570,000 children in 17 districts in Uganda, providing meals at school to increase enrolment and attendance and help children concentrate in class. Expanding the school meals programme even further was one of the priorities of the Pader district’s displaced who walked on Sunday.
In Kalongo, some 40,000 people walked below the massive Kalongo rock in a camp located almost midway between Kitgum and Kotido towns. Over 35,000 walked in another of the largest IDP camps in northern Uganda, Patongo, southeast Pader district.
Others who have been displaced by the conflict walked in Pader Town in the centre of the district and in Lira Palwo, in the southeast.
“The people came even knowing they were not going to receive food. They knew exactly why they were walking. It was genuine interest,†D’Aprile said. “In the camps it is not easy to make a pleasant situation. When the dances started, following the walk, the people were ecstaticâ€.
“People wanted to show their support for WFP’s work in a place that the outside world often overlooks,†the WFP Uganda country director Ken Davies said. “When the communities in the camps heard about the walk, they decided this was a chance to remind the world of their plight,â€
WFP together with corporate partner TNT started Fight Hunger: Walk the World three years ago to engage citizens and private companies globally in the struggle to eradicate chronic child hunger by 2015. WFP stresses that if child hunger were ended by 2015, then overall global hunger would be halved – achieving the first of the Millennium Development Goals.
“By engaging citizens from rich and poor countries alike, governments worldwide will heed the call, and will do more to end child hunger. Without citizen action, the status quo will remain,†said Arlene Mitchell, Director of Walk the World for WFP.
Private companies contribute through financial donations towards WFP’s Food for Education programme and providing logistical and other support to walks.
Fight Hunger: Walk the World went ahead in 10 other districts in Uganda, involving more than 130,000 walkers nationwide.
The latest count shows fundraising pledges have risen to over US $50,000 (sh90m) for WFP’s Food for Education programme in Uganda.
From Kampala to Kotido, Mbarara to Moroto, Ugandan walkers braved the sun and rain to join others in 118 countries and all 24 time zones.
THE northern Ugandan sun beat down mercilessly, but it did not stop them — for the 116,000 displaced people who joined a global walk against child hunger recently, a little heat is nothing.
Forced to flee their homes by the 20-year conflict with rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, they now eke out an existence in crammed camps, where every day means a struggle to meet the most basic needs.
Their decision en masse to join the global advocacy event, Fight Hunger: Walk the World, took Uganda’s total number of walkers to 130,000 – the largest of any of the 118 countries that took part in the May21 event, organised by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its corporate partner TNT.
“This has made us feel part of WFP and fighting child hunger – we feel involved beyond just receiving food,†a Lira Palwo local leader said.
For people living in the camps, WFP food assistance is vital. Although the security situation has improved, some 90% of more than 1.5 million who have been displaced still cannot venture far enough away from the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to cultivate food.
WFP also reaches out to 570,000 children in 17 districts in Uganda, providing meals at school to increase enrolment and attendance and help children concentrate in class. Expanding the school meals programme even further was one of the priorities of the Pader district’s displaced who walked on Sunday.
In Kalongo, some 40,000 people walked below the massive Kalongo rock in a camp located almost midway between Kitgum and Kotido towns. Over 35,000 walked in another of the largest IDP camps in northern Uganda, Patongo, southeast Pader district.
Others who have been displaced by the conflict walked in Pader Town in the centre of the district and in Lira Palwo, in the southeast.
“The people came even knowing they were not going to receive food. They knew exactly why they were walking. It was genuine interest,†D’Aprile said. “In the camps it is not easy to make a pleasant situation. When the dances started, following the walk, the people were ecstaticâ€.
“People wanted to show their support for WFP’s work in a place that the outside world often overlooks,†the WFP Uganda country director Ken Davies said. “When the communities in the camps heard about the walk, they decided this was a chance to remind the world of their plight,â€
WFP together with corporate partner TNT started Fight Hunger: Walk the World three years ago to engage citizens and private companies globally in the struggle to eradicate chronic child hunger by 2015. WFP stresses that if child hunger were ended by 2015, then overall global hunger would be halved – achieving the first of the Millennium Development Goals.
“By engaging citizens from rich and poor countries alike, governments worldwide will heed the call, and will do more to end child hunger. Without citizen action, the status quo will remain,†said Arlene Mitchell, Director of Walk the World for WFP.
Private companies contribute through financial donations towards WFP’s Food for Education programme and providing logistical and other support to walks.
Fight Hunger: Walk the World went ahead in 10 other districts in Uganda, involving more than 130,000 walkers nationwide.
The latest count shows fundraising pledges have risen to over US $50,000 (sh90m) for WFP’s Food for Education programme in Uganda.
From Kampala to Kotido, Mbarara to Moroto, Ugandan walkers braved the sun and rain to join others in 118 countries and all 24 time zones.