Forest City Hosts Fundraiser to Bring Clean Water to Okolimong Village in Uganda 💧

FOREST CITY, Iowa (June 29, 2023) – Local churches and businesses in and around Forest City have partnered to host a community wide fundraiser to bring clean, safe water to a village community in Uganda in desperate need. Walk 4 Water Forest City fundraiser will support the drilling of a safe water borehole in Okolimong Village, Uganda.

First Baptist Church, Lutheran Church of Hope, Forest City United Methodist Church, Britt Free Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Rotary Club of Forest City and Hope 4 Women International are a few of the groups in Forest City and surrounding communities supporting the event, with numerous other churches and organizations considering joining the effort.

Walk 4 Water Forest City  is scheduled for Sunday, August 13 at 2 p.m. at Pilot Knob State Park. During the walk, participants will traverse a two-mile walking trail, symbolizing the average distance Ugandan women and children travel to retrieve water, largely from unprotected sources including open ponds, livestock water points, and polluted ditches.

Walk 4 Water is the signature fundraiser of Water 4 Kids International, a division of Hope 4 Kids International, a non-profit working to provide clean water to children and families who are suffering through extreme poverty and disease. Walk 4 Water fundraising supports the non-profit’s international efforts to provide clean drinking water and deliver long-term solutions.

Tom Eggum, founder of Hope 4 Kids International, is a native Iowan who grew up near Forest City in Thompson, Iowa.

“I am so touched to see the community-wide effort that has gone into Walk 4 Water Forest City,” said Eggum. “This is Hope 4 Kids International’s 50th year in operation and it is incredibly meaningful to me to be able to share our mission and celebrate this major milestone with a community that has always felt like home.”

In March 2023, Water 4 Kids International hit a major milestone and celebrated the opening of 1,000 boreholes, bringing fresh safe water to over three-million people. Clean water is one of the best ways to prevent diseases in remote villages in which a minor ailment could be fatal.

In addition to drilling deep water wells, Water 4 Kids International also provides these communities with hygiene and sanitation education, as well as operation and maintenance training. When properly installed, these wells can last between 30-50 years with little to no maintenance.

Sam Warren, resident of Forest City, and member of the local team organizing the walk, shared, “With this year’s walk, we are really hoping for a big comeback after being derailed for two years by Covid. We look forward to a big-hearted response from North Iowa, where we have such amazing people and resources, to the deep needs in Uganda where we will be bringing hope through a well to provide clean water. We can embrace the challenge and opportunity to impact people’s lives on the opposite side of the globe by sharing the blessings we have through this walk. It all starts by registering and it gets really exciting when your friends and family join in as well. Our record in the past was two wells with one walk. I think that could be doable again this year.”

The Walk 4 Water fundraising goal is $12,500. Registration is $25 for adults and $10 for youth aged 7 to 17.

To register for or donate to Walk 4 Water Forest City, visit w4ki.org/w4wforestcity.

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About Hope 4 Kids International

Hope 4 Kids International is a Christian, non-profit organization, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Leading teams on exciting, life-changing short-term missions to projects around the world, Hope 4 Kids International is committed to serving impoverished children who are hurting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Teams bring relief to poverty-stricken villages by providing clean water, building medical and dental clinics, and establishing emergency medical funds. Our strategies are designed to help villagers become self-sufficient through life-saving programs. We carry the message of God’s love and hope through these impacting outreaches.