Day 17 - Final Day

Today we were supposed to have a lie-in until 9am but unfortunately Emmanuel woke at 6am while Tafi and I were still snoring! When we went to the breakfast room we were recognised by 2 of the waitresses who had seen us while we were walking the day before. They were surprised to see us in their hotel. They asked to have their photos taken with us.

We checked out at 11am and waited for Phil O’Brien who was the day co-ordinator. Peter drove down with Janice, Chrysanctus, Herbert and Zigy and met us at the hotel. Peter drove us to the starting point while Phil and the others walked. We walked together at 12pm towards Downing Street, singing all the way! After passing Buckingham Palace, we found that the ITV crew were waiting for us. They filmed us walking and interviewed Emmanuel. I was surprised to be met by my friends Dave and Corinne - I didn’t have any idea that they would be there. I was very happy to meet them there.

We arrived at Downing Street at 1:40pm and waited outside while we were still singing. There were so many people who walked past us and looked to see what we were doing. Later we were joined by Rev Harrison and … who had travelled all the way from Leicester to join us. At 2pm Emmanuel, Phil, Janice, Rev Chris Harrison, Peter and myself were called to enter Downing Street. The security was very tight. Before we got to Number 10 we were thoroughly checked and escorted by one of the officers. It was an amazing feeling to be stood in front of the door to Number 10 - after 17 days and 125 miles we’ve made it! We were hoping to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown but sadly he wasn’t available. We hope to have the opportunity to meet him in the future.

As an aside, it was bizarre to see Sir Richard Branson walking into Downing Street just as we were leaving. Once outside again, the BBC crew were waiting to interview us. Following this, those of us who were left (10 of us) decided to all go out for a meal near Trafalgar Square.

The BBC World Service contacted Peter requesting an interview with Emmanuel, so Peter drove us to Bush House where it would be held. Peter drove Emmanuel, Tafi, Herbert and me back to Derby in the evening.

Some words of thanks...

There are so many people that we need to thank for their contribution to bring this campaign into reality. There are just too many people who have helped with this project to name individually, but there are a few which I should like to thank personally including:

• Members of the Derby for Africa Initiative particularly Phil O’Brien, Rev. Christopher Harrison, David Callow, Janice Bain, Peter Nyoni, Chris Walsh and Imran Arif.

• Sue Bentley and Priya Thamotheram for their outstanding and generous commitment

• The Day Co-ordinators (Phil, Valerie, David, Peter, Edwin, Kwasi, Lawrence, Rev. Chris Harrison and Geoff)

• The Mayors of Derby, Leicester and Northampton

• Providers and offers of accommodation (Michael and Penny, Robin and Margaret, Vicar Karen and those who we had to cancel arrangements with due to unforeseen circumstances)

• All the schools, churches and groups we visited

Last but not least, we would also like to thank all those who have offered words of support, donations and prayers during the planning and running of this walk. We hope to have your continued support for work in the future.

Thank-you and God Bless you all.

Day 16 Burnt Oak to Marble Arch

The taxi ride

Today we got up at 4am. This is the only day where we did not have a co-ordinator so Sue Bentley kindly organised a Taxi to take us to our starting point. Now that we are walking into London, we decided that we would wear our African dress wear to draw attention to ourselves on the final part of our journey. We saw the taxi driver drive up the road, reading off the door numbers. He then caught sight of us in our African attire and looked very confused (it was still before 5am)! He wound down the window and called “Did you want a Taxi?” We replied “Yes”, at which point he wanted to know what we were doing dressed like that before he would let us in the car! Once we explained, he felt a lot happier. Even so, he kept looking silently at us in his mirror while he took us to our starting point.

Walking through London

We started our walk at 5:12am from Burnt Oak to the corner of Park Lane and Upper Wood Street (just past Marble Arch). We got a lot of attention from the public today, all dressed up walking through London. Emmanuel had bells around his ankles to further draw attention to us! People took photos and cars beeped at us. Others wanted to have their photo taken with us. Even when going into shops to ask to use their toilet, shop owners were welcoming. We felt like celebrities today!

We met two traffic wardens who we asked how far it was to Marble Arch. They asked why we were dressed up in funny costumes thinking we were simply in fancy dress. They were amazed when they heard that we had walked all the way from Derby and Emmanuel barefoot. We asked if they could be in a photo with us but unfortunately it was at this point that we realised that my camera memory was full.

When we reached our stopping point, we phoned Sue to come and pick us up. We went to a park to rest while we waited for her to come. People were still asking if they could take our photo. It was all too much for Tafi, who fell asleep!

Sue picked us up and took us on a tour around London. We saw Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the River Thames and much more.

We then went back to Elstree to meet school children in Borehamwood and Elstree School (press). The local media were also there and interviewed us. Our Vicar (Reverend Karen Gardiner of St Nicholas' Church) was already there, waiting for us and she introduced us to the school children and teachers. We spoke to them about our campaign. They then asked us many questions. We received a present from the school - a scroll with a poem about our barefoot walk, which the children had made for us.

We returned to Sue Bentley’s house in Harpenden and relaxed while watching Wimbledon tennis. In the evening, Sue drove us back to London to our hotel where we stayed for that night. When we were sat in our room we started to realise how much we had achieved and couldn’t believe we had made it to London!

Day 15 Frogmore to Burnt Oak

This morning Emmanuel, Tafi, Geoff and I were woken by Mr. Robin at 4am. He had already prepared breakfast for us when we came down after getting washed and dressed. Over breakfast, Mr. Robin gave each of us a present - a small seashell which was very beautiful. We have really enjoyed our stay with Mr Robin and Margaret and have loved their company and conversations. Whilst having breakfast, we found it really hard knowing that we were leaving them today. It felt like our time together wasn’t long enough and I believe that they felt the same.

We left Mr. Robin’s home at 5am and started walking from Frogmore at 5:20. At the end of each day, we leave a marker where we stop and return to that point the next. Today, when we returned to our marker, it was not there. We think someone may have seen us hide the marker last time and then pinched it once we left!!! Geoff Noble, our day co-ordinator stopped after every ½ mile and walked with us.

The foot clinic!

Emmanuel was struggling as the pavement was really rough and his swollen foot hadn’t recovered properly. We did have a joke about this however: Geoff came up to us and said “I’ve got some good news for you guys but the place is still closed” and when we walked along, we arrived at… a Foot Clinic! We took a photo!

Geoff was very helpful today in sorting out the directions across some of the major roundabouts. We stopped walking at Burnt Oak at 9:50am.

After the walk we went to meet up with Sue Bentley at a big park with a huge lake. She had brought a picnic with her so we found a bench and had lunch. Geoff then left us at the park to return to Derby and Sue drove us back to her home in Harpenden as she had to pick up her children from school while Tafi and I caught up on Wimbledon.

At 5:30pm Sue dropped us at Elstree at the home of Vicar Karen where we were staying that night. We had a shower and then left to go to meet the Mother’s Union in St. Albans for 7:30pm. Emmanuel spoke to the group. He couldn’t hold back his tears at the end. Everyone really felt the emotion and some people also welled up. He then gave them a chance to ask questions. The Bishop of Bedford who was also there asked if everyone would join him in a prayer for us. We received a donation from one of the members.

After the meeting, we returned to Elstree to Vicar Karen’s house. Sue said that Karen was the first to offer us accommodation when she was organising her leg of our journey. On our return, Vicar Karen had prepared a lovely meal for us which we enjoyed very much. We were very tired at this point so after the meal we went straight to bed. I slept like log that night!

Day 14 Rest Day and return to Harpenden

Today is a rest day and we will not be walking. We will however be driving from Derby to Harpenden in preparation for tomorrow.

We had planned to leave at 5pm but I received a call from Emmanuel at 12:30pm to say that he and Geoff were leaving his house now to pick me up! I had to pack quickly but unfortunately, in the rush I forgot amongst other things my phone charger!

We left at 1pm and passed by Swadlincote to pick up Tafi who was performing at an event there.

When we arrived at Robin’s house in Harpenden where we were staying for the night, we found that a group of people were there to meet us. They wanted to hear more about our campaign because they have a charity to provide support for a school in Uganda. We told them about the Derby for Africa initiative and they updated us on their charity work.

After the meeting we had dinner with Mr. Robin and his wife, Margaret and then we sat down to watch the Euro 2008 Final between Germany and Spain. While we watched the game, Mr. Robin and Geoff, our day co-ordinator decided to drive out and check out the tomorrow’s route.

When the game had finished, Mr. Robin showed us to our rooms and we went to bed.

Day 13 Rest Day

Today they guys back in Derby resting their poor feet!
Emmanuel’s feet are swollen and he is nursing them with warm water and keeping them elevated.

See photos from Day 11 and Day 12.

Day 12 Dunstable, Redbourn, St Albans, Frogmore

I would like to start by thanking Mr Michael Waggette and his wife, Penny for opening their doors and accommodating us last night.

Last night, Tafi, Emmanuel, Rev. Christopher Harrison (our co-ordinator yesterday and today) and I spent the night at Mr and Mrs Waggette’s house in Luton. I can’t find special words to thank them enough for their kindness. We all had a lovely, comfortable sleep last night.
This morning, we woke up at 4am because we wanted to start our walk at 5am from Markyate. As I came down the stairs this morning, I found that Mr and Mrs Waggette had prepared breakfast for us already and Rev. Christopher and Tafi were at the table already. I’ve never had such service as this in my life before! May God grant them peace and many more happy years to come.

We started our walk from Markyate at 5:20am. Sue told us about a short cut to Redbourn which goes through the small villages rather than along the A5. The road was fine but very hilly and bendy but the roads were quiet and much safer. We crossed the M1 through a tunnel to Redbourn.

Whilst walking through Redbourn, Emmanuel received a call from BBC Radio Three Counties who said they would like to interview him. They met us on the route to St. Albans and interviewed him while walking. The 4.2 mile footpath between Redbourn and St. Albans was very rough and there was lots of broken glass and dead tree branches along it.

It was at this point, half a mile from St. Albans Cathedral, that Emmanuel trod on a piece of glass and cut his foot. We had to stop to remove the glass using a small pair of scissors and then bandage his foot before continuing. Our aim today was to walk 12 miles but after Emmanuel’s foot injury we had to stop after 11½ miles. Despite this, we managed to reach Frogmore which was past St. Albans.
We visited St. Albans Cathedral today and met Arun Kataria, a Diocesan Communications Officer. He filmed and interviewed us. After finishing our walk, we visited the Sir John Lawes Secondary School in Harpenden. As we arrived, we were welcomed by seven students and their teacher Helen Gosnell who were waiting at the school gate without shoes! They led us into the school where we took some photos with some of the students. The school provided lunch and afterwards, we went to the hall and talked to many of the students. Again, Arun was there to film and take more pictures.

I told them about my traumatic experience as a child when I witnessed the killing of my school teachers back in Zimbabwe in 1983 and Emmanuel spoke about what happened to him in Cameroon. Each time we talk to people, I see it in their faces how moved they are to hear our stories.

Today was planned to be a rest day but we had decided to walk it, get ahead of schedule and have two days rest back in Derby. This was fortunate because Emmanuel had hurt his foot and needed to rest it.

Day 11 Woburn to Dunstable

Today Reverend Christopher Harrison is our day co-ordinator and picked us up and drove us to Woburn. We left Derby today at 4:45am.

Before we started the walk, the four of us held hands and began with a prayer before we started on our way, around 6:35am. We managed to walk 10 miles today through Dunstable to Markyate. The A4012 route to Hockcliffe (A5) was difficult due to there being no pavement and heavy traffic with big lorries and busses.

Once we joined the A5 road to Dunstable however, there were footpaths all the way to Markyate where we finished.

After the walk, we went to Sue Bentley's house for Lunch. The food was delicious - we enjoyed it very much. She had laid out a whole collection of food - sandwiches, chicken, salad, everything! - I was lost for which to choose!!!

We then visited another two schools today. The first school was a Roman Catholic school called St. Dominic's School. The teachers were very pleased to have us there. We were introduced to the children by one of their teachers where Emmanuel spoke to what our campaign was about and why he was walking barefoot. They were really surprised to hear about it. Again, he compared their life with children of similar age in Africa who go to school without shoes or food and walk long distances for water. He explained how many of the children are orphans because their parents are killed by conflict under irresponsible governments. Many asked questions - mainly about current situation in Zimbabwe. I found it surprising how much the pupils knew about the situation in Zimbabwe.

One of the teachers, Ms. Jinty Joy Orange revealed that she was from Zimbabwe which the pupils were unaware of until this point. She told me that she was forced to flee from Zimbabwe in 2003 to seek asylum. She also said she was very supportive in what were are doing in light of what was happening back home in Zimbabwe.

Next, Sue took us to see a very interesting church in Harpenden which was built in 1800's.

The second school was a 150 year old St. Nicholas Primary School in Harpenden where Sue's own children go to. The headteacher Ruth Mattison was very pleased to have us. She introduced us to all 155 school children who were gathered in the school hall. Emmanuel spoke to them about human abuses to the young children in Africa. He told them how young people in Africa are surviving every day. He gave them the opportunity to ask some questions. Here are some of the questions they asked and the answers that he gave:


"Why are your friends wearing shoes but you are walking barefoot?"
Khumbula and Tafi help me by checking the paths for stones and broken glass and watch out for traffic.

"What gives you the strength to walk all the way from Derby to London?"
We get our strength from God, from people who are supporting us and from schools that we visit along the way.

"Why did you choose to walk in this country?"
Because we want people in this country to know what is happening in Africa. Also, people in this part of the world have democracy and can say "No" to things that they believe are not right, but in parts of Africa, you could be killed for doing that.

"Who long did it take to walk from the start to our school"
11 days

After the questions, I told them about what happened when I was at school and the 5th Brigade soldiers came to our school and made us watch whilst they killed all of our school teachers. I asked them to try and see if they could imagine what that would be like.

Tafi played a song on his Mbira at both schools today. Emmanuel also sang a hymn for them also.

After the school we returned to the church hall, where we met up with a group. We also met up with many of the parents of the school children. They asked questions and were interested to hear more about what we are doing.

Finally, headed to Luton where we (Emmanuel, myself, Tafi and Chris Harrison) will be spending the night. Chris has done a great job setting up the arrangements and co-ordinating our walk. Michael Waggett and his wife Penny have kindly offered us accomodation for tonight. They said that when they heard from Sue about our walk they didn't hesitate in offering to help us. They also made us a lovely meal this evening and made us feel welcome.

We are now sitting comfortably watching the Russia vs Spain football match just as if we were at home!

We would like to thank Sue again for everything she has done for us, including, Lunch, the arrangements with the schools and escorting around the area.