Princeton NJ Non-Profit Press Releases

West Windsor Twins Enroute to Congo

West Windsor, NJ: On Saturday, May 1, twin brothers will take the next step on their way to the Congo. Jon and Zach Victor will help check in the runners for the May Day 5k to Combat Riverblindness, a race that begins at Princeton Theological Seminary and is sponsored by Princeton United Methodist Church to benefit the United Front Against Riverblindness (UFAR). The Victor brothers, West Windsor residents and members of the church, plan to go on the church’s mission trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in support of UFAR.

More than one-third of the 60 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk for getting riverblindness, says Zach Victor. The disease starts with a rash and leads to sight loss, forcing children to leave school to care for parents. Though the medicine is provided free by Merck & Co., the challenge is to ensure that those in remote villages take the drug at least once a year for 10 years.

“Through UFAR, the $25 entry fee for this race will benefit the United Front Against Riverblindness (UFAR),” says Jon Victor. “That fee will keep 15 people from going blind.” Register for the race by April 30 at www.princetonumc.org or www.riverblindness.org.

Though the Victors are only in the 11th grade (Zach at WW-P North and Jon at Lawrenceville School) they have already made significant contributions to the community. Both are state-certified emergency medical technicians and ride with the Twin “W” First Aid Squad. Each has made two trips to Appalachia to do construction work for the Appalachia Service Project. Jon sings in Princeton United Methodist Church’s youth choir, and Zach coordinates PUMC’s “Communities of Light” project for Womanspace.

The influence of their early childhood years, when they lived in Japan, is still strong. Zach has practiced the Japanese martial art of Aikido for 11 years, and Jon is studying Japanese and is involved in the Japan Club at Lawrenceville. Their father, Vasanth Victor, is managing director at Natixis, a French Bank, and their mother, Susan, is a chaplain and counselor at Womanspace.

The race is one of several events to benefit UFAR. Also scheduled: an Afternoon Tea at PUMC on Sunday, April 25, at 2 p.m.; a solo handbell concert at PUMC on Saturday, May 15, at 7 p.m., and a community-wide African Soiree on Saturday, May 22, at 6 p.m. at Princeton University’s Carl A. Fields Center, complete with authentic African food, music, and entertainment. Call 609-924-2613 or www.princetonumc.org.

PUMC, located on the corner of Nassau and Vandeventer, is a diverse congregation whose members come from many surrounding communities, backgrounds, and faith histories. UFAR is an African-inspired, Lawrenceville-based nonprofit charitable organization that aims, in partnership with other organizations, to eradicate onchocerciasis, a major public health problem in the DRC (www.riverblindness.org).                                     -30-