“The Coast to Coast Walk is such an epic adventure, even though it is 12 solid days of doing exactly one thing over and over again, putting one foot in front of the other. And yet there are so many stories to tell – of the people you meet, the weird and wonderful things that happen and of the things you see.”
These are the words of 13-year old Henry after walking 200 miles and raising £994 for child amputees in ELoH’s projects. With his mother for company, Henry walked more than 24 miles during some of the days, and this with an ingrown toenail. On top of this, his mother tore a ligament halfway through the walk after escaping bulls and falling off the top of a dry stone wall. Still, the pair managed to complete the walk and they had a lot of fun along the way. Henry says:
“Each night before we went to sleep we would look at the route for the day ahead, with a mixture of feelings. Pride for completing a day, dread for the mountains and bogs ahead, and hope that the weather would be good and the walk could go on forever. The feeling of wanting the walk to not finish became more intense as we neared the end. ”
Henry decided to undertake the fundraising challenge after listening to a talk that Sarah and Isabelle from ELoH held at his school in April. He was very moved by the situation of child amputees in Liberia and Sierra Leone and wanted to contribute to ELoH’s mission to support them to walk, play and go to school again. Having previously done a few shorter walks, he decided to challenge himself and walk 200 miles to raise money to support the children in our projects.
In September, Henry’s fundraiser was rewarded in a very special way. He received the Prime Minister’s Point of Light award for the inspiring way in which he acted to make a difference for others. At ELoH we are very grateful for Henry’s fundraiser and proud of the way in which he battled through the 200 miles. It is a great example of how a young person in the UK can help young people in less developed countries – the £994 raised is enough to provide prosthetic legs for 12 children in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Thank you Henry!