MACLEAN’S NAMES GULUWALK FOUNDERS ‘NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR’

This past July I was asked to document what was then a little known project called the GuluWalk. For all of July Adrian and Kieran walked 25 kms a day to demonstrate the plight of the night commuter children of Northern Uganda. Their efforts to bring this issue to the forefront have continued beyond July and they will be honoured in the upcoming issue of Maclean's magazine! Well deserved guys. More on the GuluWalk at www.guluwalk.com and more photos on my website here.




MACLEAN’S NAMES GULUWALK FOUNDERS ‘NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR’

Toronto, ON – In the December 26, 2005 issue of Maclean’s,
Canada’s only weekly news magazine, GuluWalk co-founders Adrian
Bradbury and Kieran Hayward were honoured in the ‘Heroes’ section of
the publication’s year-end double issue titled ‘Newsmakers 2005’.

Bradbury and Hayward were recognized alongside 18 other notable
international recipients including Bono and Nelson Mandela, as well as
Canada’s soldiers in Afghanistan and Justice John Gomery.

The Toronto natives were featured in Maclean’s
in recognition of GuluWalk, their 31-day ‘night commute’ in support of
the children of northern Uganda. Every evening in July, Bradbury and
Hayward walked 12.5 km into downtown Toronto to sleep in front of city
hall. After about fours hours sleep they made the trek home at sunrise,
all while continuing to work full-time and attempting to maintain their
usual daily routine.

There was a worldwide response to the GuluWalk that resulted in
GuluWalk Day on October 22, which saw over 15,000 people in 38 cities
worldwide take the first international step towards telling the story
of the children of northern Uganda. GuluWalk Day attracted people of
all nationality, colour, race and religion in a global show of support
for the innocent victims of the world’s most ignored humanitarian
emergency.

Every night as many as 40,000 children living in rural northern Uganda
walk into the town of Gulu and other urban centres to sleep in relative
safety and avoid abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Desperately
afraid of abduction, vulnerable children as young as four years old
will walk from their homes or displacement camp to sleep on porches, in
school yards or other open areas. These ‘night commuters’ walk from as
far as 12km away and make the return trek home every single day.

“The success of GuluWalk wasn’t just Kieran and I, but the work of so
many committed volunteers, charities and advocates for peace all over
the globe,” said Bradbury. “We’ve played a role in raising awareness of
this pointless conflict, but today there are still children night
commuting and thousands dying every week in appalling conditions in IDP
camps. We’re not going to stop raising our voices for these courageous
kids until there is indeed peace and opportunity in northern Uganda.”


Early morning, August 1, 2005. Adrian and Kieran celebrate on the final leg of the GuluWalk.

posted by Jing @ 1:45 AM