Over 7 Days in October, a team of 24 Adults and Children came together across the UK to walk 250km between them, raising awareness and funds to help families in Darfur.
The organiser of ‘Stride for Sudan’, Rosie Hazleton, came up with the idea after hearing a BBC Report about a Mother who walked for 1 Week with her 3 Children, with no food and very little water to get to safety during the ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Sudan.
Rosie says, “As a mum I can’t imagine how that must feel – the danger but also not being able to feed your own children. I spoke about it with my girls and their connection to Darfur through their Grandpa and we all agreed we wanted to do something. We came up with the idea of multiple walks over 7 days, to reflect the distance and time the Sudanese mother had walked with her children.”
The youngest participants were 8 year-old Fergus and 6 year-old George, who walked 11-miles in the Wylye Valley, Wiltshire. Their cousins Thora (age 14) and Martha (age 12) walked the Great Glen Way in Scotland. In just one week, the ‘Stride for Sudan’ team raised £3,485 – what an inspiration!
What motivated these admirable young people to take on such a feat?
Martha (12) wrote to us to say: “We can not just sit back and watch people suffer so I walked so they knew people Cared about them and when I saw all their smiles I knew I did the right thing, even though it was small it helped so many people and we have so much and they have so little but I can do something so I did and it felt amazing. I hope we can keep helping people. So you are not forgotten there will always be a place in our hearts for you Xxx”
Her sister Thora (14) says, “I walked for the kids because it’s so unfair. They are in such a bad situation when they have done nothing wrong – and we can help.”
We could not be more in awe of this incredible family, working together across the country to make sure that children in Darfur, Sudan experiencing immense hardship can have food to eat. And what’s more? They are not stopping there! The team is working to organise another ‘Stride for Sudan’ walk – a Woman’s Walk – in December to continue raising funds and awareness. Would you like to be involved? Stay tuned for more information! In the meantime please do send us an email so we can get in touch.
