ALLENTOWN: Annual walk to benefit African country

   ALLENTOWN — Villages in Partnership (VIP) will be hosting its Fourth Annual Water Walk event from Friday, May 3 to Saturday, May 4 at the Allentown High School track located at 27 High St.
   VIP will kick-off the Walk with a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser at the Allentown Presbyterian Church located at 20 High St., Allentown at 6:00 p.m. Friday.
   The walk will commence at 7:00 p.m. that night, beginning from the church. During the walk, teams of participants will walk the track around-the-clock for a 24-hour period, until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. Participants raise money by having their friends and family sponsor the time they spend walking.
   Past Water Walks have been a huge success, with more than 120 walkers participating in each event, raising more than $40,000 each year for the life-changing work of VIP. The purpose of the Water Walk is to raise awareness of the need for access to safe water and struggle to survive that villagers in the African nation of Malawi face every day, and to raise funds to support Villages in Partnership’s efforts to help alleviate those burdens.
   All donations received during the Village Water Walk event will be sent to Malawi to support safe water projects and other sustainable development projects funded by Villages in Partnership.
   Anyone interested in participating in or helping to organize the Water Walk can contact Villages in Partnership by e-mail at [email protected]www.villagesinpartnership.org.
   Donations can be made online via website – www.villagesinpartnership.org, or by sending a check to Villages in Partnership, 20 High Street, P.O. Box 122, Allentown, NJ 08501. All donations are tax-deductible.
   VIP projects include the construction of wells to provide access to clean, safe water; construction of a new primary school for kids who previously had to walk more than four miles to school, if they went at all; agriculture development programs that provide improved seeds, irrigation projects and training in other advanced farming techniques; distribution of goats and other livestock to vulnerable families; HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs; adult literacy classes; and construction of community fish ponds.