A woman from Abbots Langley has completed an 800km trek in memory of her late son, raising an astonishing £5,656 for charity.
Kath Heraty, 70, embarked on the journey to raise awareness for The OLLIE Foundation, a local charity supporting suicide prevention and wellbeing. Kath’s son, Joe Heraty, sadly passed away seven years ago.
She completed the journey, which took her 33 days, on what would have been her son’s 44th birthday, Wednesday, June 4. She did not take a single day’s rest during the challenge.
Speaking to ABBOTSnews, Kath said: “I have always found walking has helped me on my grief journey and I wanted to do something that would make my late son proud.
“It was the most challenging experience but also the most amazing, and finishing on what would have been Joe’s 44th birthday was incredible. I’m so glad I did it and that I was able to raise funds for a local charity that does great work in mental health and suicide awareness.”
The trek is a popular pilgrimage route, known as the Camino Francés. It stretches from a commune in the south of France to Santiago de Compostela, a city in the west of Spain.
Kath explained that The OLLIE Foundation was set up by three parents who lost their teenage sons to suicide, and vowed “to do all they could to prevent other families suffering similar tragedies”. They offer training, events, initiatives and resources to reduce the number of people who feel like suicide is their only option.
Find out more at www.theolliefoundation.org
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