KAMPALA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A second worldwide charity walk to raise awareness on the plight of children affected by the war in northern Uganda will take place in October, Daily Monitor reported on Tuesday.

    The walk dubbed Guluwalk is an initiative of two Canadians, Adrian Bradbury and Kieran Hayward, who want to help children in the war-ravaged north.

    The first Guluwalk was held in October 2005 and attracted 40 cities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Bradbury said in a statement that funds raised from this years' Guluwalk would be channeled to support education and rehabilitation programs.

    "On Saturday, October 21, 2006, over 100 cities worldwide will take to the streets for the second annual Guluwalk Day.

    The rebels of the Lords Resistance Army have abducted an estimated 20,000 children since the war started 20 years ago. The rebellion has left tens of thousands of people killed and over 1.4million homeless.

    Fearing to be abducted by the rebels, hundreds of children walk several kilometers to major trading centers in the region and sleep in temporary shelters, hospital compounds, verandas and other public places.

    Bradbury and Hayward said they had been inspired by the courage displayed by the IDPs amidst the conflict after visited Uganda in March this year and spent two weeks visiting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gulu and Kitgum districts.

    "There is hope and an air of optimism in such appalling conditions in the IDP camps, that you can't help but be inspired, "Bradbury said, "It's hard for us to understand how nearly two million people can be trapped in these seemingly hopeless camps, yet they still have hope.''

    Through the Guluwalk initiative, mini charity walks have been held in various parts of the world. Two separate walks were held in Toronto and New York in April where about 10,000 U.S dollars was raised to support two NGOs -- World Vision Rehabilitation Center and Uganda Conflict Action Network.

    The two NGO's are currently running programs for war affected children in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Lira and Pader.

    The Ugandan government has embarked on a program of resettling the IDPs back to their home villages following the scaling down of rebel activities in most parts of the region. Enditem