Walks Across America: Midwest
August 15, 2013
The Jubilee Village Walk for Water took place in downtown Indianapolis.
Jubilee Village Project is a group of individuals in Indiana who are passionate about partnership. They have an amazing holistic approach to meeting the development needs in Kager, Kenya and are working with Water Missions International to implement a safe water project there. They held their Second Annual Walk for Water in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, July 27th with more than 200 walkers and 70 volunteers, raising over $49,000.
The Jubilee Village Project and Water Missions International will use the funds raised to provide a safe water solution for the community of Kager, Kenya.
David Kayando, the Lead Village Champion from Kager, was in attendance and spoke about the real need for his community to have safe water according to the local Jubilee Village Project news. “On behalf of an entire village, David expressed deep gratitude to all the Walkers and Volunteers for ‘giving up their lives’ and sharing God's love with the people of his village.” (JVP News)
Participants carried yellow buckets full of water.
Local Council Woman Ginny Cain even shared the Mayoral Proclamation of “Walk for Water Day” in Indianapolis! This was a tremendous community-wide event that pulled families from all over to participate.
Indianapolis Councilwoman Ginny Cain, David Kayando from Kenya, and Mike Peduto of JVP
Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church Walk For Water
Just a week later and a state away, another walk took place. In the summer of 2012, I first met with Beth Rinsema, the Director of Care at Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois, and the vision for their Walk for Water was born. While this was a new idea for their church, the response was amazing! They combined funds from their annual garage sale with their walk event and exceeded their goal of $30,000 for a community managed safe water project that will now be determined.
A volunteer holds a sign with a water statistic at the Elmhurst Walk For Water.
On Sunday, August 4th about 175 people of all ages took a 2-mile walk from the church to a nearby pond where they filled their buckets before returning to the church. “’The whole idea of [the walk] is to replicate what many women and children have to do every day for their water,’ Anna Wick said. The experience was very moving, especially when they saw the fresh pond water, unpurified and filled with dirt from the banks. While her children are still too young to fully understand the project, Wick said many parents used the walk as a learning tool for their children.” (mysuburbanlife.com)
Participants filled up their buckets at the lake.
Following the walk, everyone gathered for a lunch, allowing families to talk about the experience they just shared. Josh Becvar shared, “for me the most touching thing was being able to bring something tangible to the attention of my 6 year old boy, Ethan. Being able to show him what other kids have to do to get dirty water, and then have him actually perform half of the act that they have to every day was very cool to see. He (and I) were able to gain such a greater appreciation for what we have and take for granted. Furthermore, of course, it's so cool to now be able to see an entire village be able to not have to do this anymore and have clean water forever!”
Walk participants journey together to fetch water.
Thank you Jubilee Village Project and Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church for your amazing efforts. Your events provided the opportunity for people to give and get involved! We know that it isn’t always easy planning events like this, and we are so grateful for your heart and passion to see it through.
Are you “the one” to inspire your community, your church, your company? If so, learn more today at www.walkinabucket.org!
To learn more about the Jubilee Village Project, please visit jubileevillage.org.
To learn more about Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, please visit elmhurstcrc.org.
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