For the City-Times

The Makah Water for All Foundation’s WELLers Walk will be held from 9 a.m to noon Saturday, Sept. 20, at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point.

The non-competitive, family-friendly event offers participants the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of villagers of Cameroon, West Africa, by making their way to the river to fill an empty jug with water and haul it back to the starting point.

“The idea of WELLers Walk is that people get to experience, even if just for one morning each year, what it is like to have limited access to safe drinking water,” said Sam Dinga, Makah Water for All founder, a Stevens Point resident and native of Cameroon. “It’s unique, but it’s also a good time. We try to get the whole family involved, and the money raised goes to a good cause.”

The walk covers a half-mile loop starting in Bukolt Park. Participants can do multiple trips. Jugs will be provided but participants can bring their own jugs or milk gallons. All proceeds go towards building wells in villages in Cameroon.

The inaugural event last year raised enough to fund the construction of two wells. Dinga said sponsorships are going well again this year with Paramount Farms Inc., Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Warner & Warner, Okray Family Farms, Roberts Irrigation Company, Inc., AIG (Travel Guard), and Regnier Consulting Group Inc. all having committed funds to the event.

“In central Wisconsin we depend on safe, sustainable water for both our basic living needs as well as our livelihoods,” said Dinga. “We have had a great response from the community. The generosity of the people and businesses in this area continue to help us toward our goal of building wells and providing essential, sustainable, clean drinking water for villagers in Cameroon.”

Dinga founded The Makah Water for All Foundation following the death of his sister, Ma Kah Rosemary, in 2009 in Cameroon from health complications due to bad drinking water. She was 40 years old when she died. Dinga turned 40 years old last month.

“This birthday was a big deal for myself and my twin sister, Grace, because our sister Ma Kah Rosemary passed at the age of 40,” said Dinga. “And 40 is the number of pump wells that I pledged to build in Africa to provide clean drinking water to help others.”

The Makah Foundation has built a total of 14 wells so far in Cameroon changing the lives of more than 25,000 people previously without access to safe drinking water.

For more information visit www.makahwaterforall.org.

To register for WELLers Walk – registration costs $25 for adults, $10 for students, and $5 for kids 12 and younger – or to make a donation visit wellerswalk.com.