March for human rights

A walk in support of human rights in Northern Uganda kicks off on Saturday, October 16. Co-founded by Concordia alumnus Peter Schiefke, GuluWalk Montreal is one of many such marches around the world to call for an end to the civil war that has ravaged Northern Uganda for over two decades.

The original GuluWalk Montreal was launched by Schiefke and peers after a humanitarian trip to Uganda, where an estimated 25,000 children have been abducted and turned into child soldiers, sex slaves and laborers. What’s more, some 1.7 million Northern Ugandans have been forced into internally displaced person camps.

Jan Egeland, former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, once said: "I cannot find any other part of the world that is having an emergency on the scale of Uganda that is getting such little international attention."

The first GuluWalk Montreal was inspired by GuluWalk Toronto. The marches have since grown into a worldwide movement for peace. In 2007, over 30,000 people from 16 countries took part in GuluWalks in support of Northern Uganda. Since its inception, GuluWalkers have raised over $1 million for programs that provide education and rehabilitation to war-affected Ugandans.

GuluWalk Montreal begins on October 16, at 3 p.m., at George-Etienne Cartier Monument of Parc Mont-Royal (Parc and Mont-Royal avenues). Marchers will undertake a 7 kilometer walk through the city that will end at Place Émilie-Gamelin at 5 p.m. (Sainte-Catherine and Berri streets).

Related link:
•    GuluWalk