Our 10-Mile Annual Walk for Young Refugees: A Day to Remember

By Abdoul, our Communications Volunteer

We had an exciting adventure on Saturday, the 23^rd of September as part of our 4000 Mile Challenge. We organised an annual 10-mile walk in Epping Forest. It’s all part of our goal to raise awareness and money over the month of September to support young refugees to access education and improve their wellbeing.

Our adventure began at 10 a.m. at the Holly Trail Café where Alice, our Communication and Fundraising Officer and organiser of the challenge, gave us all the details for our day. We were ready and eager to go.

At 10:30 a.m., we set off on our walk. It was amazing to see so many people from different places coming together for a good cause. We laughed and talked as we walked through the beautiful forest. Nature surrounded us, and it felt like a great escape.

Abdoul and Fatmata*, two talented young people on our programmes who are also our Communications Volunteers, took some nice pictures along the way. It was a fantastic way to remember the day and all the fun we had.

After a few miles, we stopped at the King’s Oak Café for lunch for about an hour. We shared stories, ate sandwiches, and had some drinks. It was a lovely break, and we felt refreshed.

After the break, Matt, our CEO, stood up to say thank you. He thanked all of us, the participants, the staff who helped organise everything and the people who donated money to support young refugees. It was a nice reminder of why we were walking.

With happy hearts, we continued our walk. The forest kept changing around us, and it was like a magical journey.

Finally, as the sun started to go down, we finished our 10-mile walk around 3:30 p.m. We were tired but proud. We knew that our walk would support more young refugees to access school, college and university courses, improve their well-being, and build bright futures.

We want to say a big thank you to all the amazing people who joined our 2023 Sponsored Walk, donated to our walkers, and cheered us on.