11.04.2024

Walk a Mile on Sumatra

Walk a Mile starts with a traditional dance, Photo: Martina Pauly / UEM

The church service and a sermon by the UEM General Secretary, Rev Dr Andar Parlindungan Photo: Martina Pauly / UEM

The Church Leadership, UEM General Secretary Rev Dr Andar Parlindungan and a youth dance group, Photo: Martina Pauly, UEM

At the invitation of the Karo Batak Church (GBKP) in Kabanjahe in North Sumatra, Indonesia, around 1,200 people gathered on Saturday morning, April 6, for the annual fundraiser "Walk a Mile" under the fundraising campaign United Action. GBKP developed the route equivalent to 1.6 kilometers through the city at the foot of the famous Sinabung volcano together with local church members. Church leaders and members of eight other UEM member churches from Sumatra and Nias joined the long procession, which danced like a blue ribbon through the entire city centre. The 50-strong organizing team from the GBKP church had a blue Walk-a-Mile shirt made and sold and distributed to the participants in advance to also generate funds for United Action.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the march started in the traditional way with a Caronese dance performed by a group from the host church's Alpha Omega project.  Alpha Omega is a project for people with disabilities who live on a new two-hectare campus where, among other things, biologically sustainable agriculture is practiced.

The first opportunity to fill the donation baskets was at a donation station along the way. The finish line was the church grounds in the city center of Kabanjahe, which in turn marked the beginning of a donation festival lasting several hours. A church service and a sermon by the General Secretary of the UEM, Rev Dr Andar Parlindungan, kicked off a cheerful program that invited all guests to participate. And the invitees were not long in coming. Representatives of the above-mentioned member churches, UEM scholarship holders and alumni, evangelization contact persons and former UEM employees - they had all collected donations in their respective groups in advance and now carried their donation baskets or, in the case of the HKI, "money trees" singing and dancing to the stage.

Students from the member church GKPM in Mentawai were also there. At the time, they were taking part in a training course run by the GBKP church, which passes on its extensive diaconal expertise to its sister churches as part of training courses within the UEM network.

The program included numerous musical contributions, including a children's group that played the traditional Karonese bamboo drum Keteng-keteng. The young musicians had paid for their own transportation from Medan, four hours away, and their overnight stay in Kabanjahe.

The General Secretary of the UEM once again ensured that the donation barometer rose when he took to the stage and performed a solo song. In the auction that followed, pictures with biblical stories, fruit baskets and vegetable bags were auctioned off in the audience. The two presenters from the host church not only showed great negotiating skills, but above all ensured a high entertainment value that visibly satisfied the guests. There was laughter, singing and dancing.

It was remarkable that all contributions, both the time and material donations as well as the performances, were made on a voluntary basis. In this way, the great commitment of the UEM members up to the management level and the motivational potential at the grassroots level became visible. Pastor Krismas Barus, Chairman of the GBKP Synod, thanked all participants at the end of the fundraising festival, who not only organized and experienced an enjoyable Saturday morning, but also collected around 100 million Indonesian rupiah, the equivalent of 7,000 euros, for a good cause. The money is earmarked for church projects to improve the living conditions of children in emergency situations in Africa, Asia and Germany.

After 2016, the GBKP organised this year's "Walk a mile" charity run for the second time. This is a donation format of the UEM churches in North Sumatra as part of the "United Action" fundraising campaign. African and Asian member churches of the UEM secure funding for projects in all three UEM regions.

On behalf of the UEM, we would also like to thank all participants, as well as the GBKP preparation team and the UEM staff in the Asia regional office for their commitment!