Walking for the world
 Oak Grove Chapel responded to the Asian tsunami disaster by cancelling their Sunday morning services and instead organising a community sponsored walk for 500 people around Waterloo Park in Norwich on February 6 to raise £3500 for the victims.
The air at Waterloo Park was filled with the laughter and voices of children and adults as they walked around it on the bright spring-like Sunday morning.
Organised by Oak Grove Chapel as one of its community projects, the walk brought together children, parents, the heads and staff from the four schools in the area, the Pavilion Play Group, the Catton Stage and Dance Workshop together with members of the church.
The morning began with a short devotional act of remembrance for those bereaved in the disaster when some beautiful prayers, written by children from the schools, were read.
Then the City's Lord Mayor, Councillor Joyce Divers, laid a wreath at the Memorial Wall. She then led the walkers on the first lap and the race was on see how many laps of the Park could be walked in two hours to raise the promised sponsor money.
As each lap was completed, stewards marked off the score so building up the total funding and certificates were awarded at the end of the morning to the intrepid walkers. A plentiful supply of drinks and cakes, provided by the church members, kept up energy levels.
Mums and toddlers did a 'Buggy Trot' through the rose garden and along the herbaceous borders. Eighteen young children from the Pavilion Play did their walk during the week before the main event and raised the princely sum of £300 – a good indicator of what the total sum might eventually be when all sponsored funds are collected.
"A brilliant day," said Ian Savory, leader of Oak Grove Chapel. "It is so good to see the community coming together and working so well together for such a good cause."
Story by John Breeze
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