An Amersham resident is taking on the ultimate fundraising challenge to support Ukrainian refugees. On September 12, Tom Harrison will set off on his 263 mile walk from Land’s End in Cornwall to Parliamentary Square in London, with no money whatsoever.
Tom is hoping to replicate the experience that Ukrainian refugees are going through every day.
He said: “I wanted to do more for Ukraine because we’re coming up to six months since the conflict started, and the need for humanitarian help has just continued. I read that there are around ten million displaced people.”
Tom is raising money for the British Red Cross, who are providing refugees with welcome packs that include the basic essentials, such as clothing, sim cards and razors.
Tom said: “I wanted to keep the situation in people’s minds because it’s still horrendous, people are still dying out there, getting injured. The Ukrainians aren’t forgotten.
“I wanted to do something that will hopefully capture the public’s imagination and will require some suffering from me, I’m under no illusions about that. I thought if I’m tired every day I’m walking, or if I get hungry, so what? The Ukrainian people had to run out of their back door, whilst their homes are being shelled, with nothing.
“They face the same thing but with the danger of being injured or killed. I can always remind myself that whilst I might be tired or hungry, no one is trying to shoot me.”
Tom is setting off with only a few things, a sleeping bag, a water bottle which can be filled up in a stream or people’s houses and a day’s worth of snacks.
Tom said: “I will be completely dependent on people helping me out. It’s kind of scary!
“I asked myself the other day, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ The answer was no. But then I realised that’s the wrong question, it should be ‘Can I do this?’, and I realised I can. The hardest step is the first one. I just have to do it.”
The walk is expected to take a minimum of two weeks if Tom can hit his target of 20 miles a day.
If you would like to support Tom’s fundraiser, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/landsendlondon
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