Barefoot Walk to London

Day 17 - Final Day

2008-07-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Day 10 Gayhurst to Woburn

2008-06-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our walk resumed today after we had a rest day yesterday. This morning we left Derby at 4:35am and started our walk at 6:23am from Gayhurst. The walk was long and tough like as usual but we managed to do 11 miles to Woburn.

Sue Bentley, a World Development Advisor for Dunstable arranged for two schools to meet up with us - we first visited Kensworth Lower School (Bedfordshire, Dunstable) which has only 50 pupils and only three teachers but is over 150 years old!! On arrival we met the Vicar from opposite the school who took in and introduced us to the children who sang a song for us that they prepared. It was a very wonderful song about treating all human beings the same no matter how tall or short you are, what colour your are or which country you are from. Emmanuel told the children about his life in Africa and why he is doing a barefoot walk and they were really interested in what he was saying.

Afterward they were given the opportunity to ask some questions and most of them asked about the wild animals in Africa "Is it true that the cheetah is the fasted animal in the world?", "Can a cheetah climb a tree", "How many Elephants have you seen in Africa?". They also asked about how children lived in Africa. Tafi closed the visit by playing a song on his Mbira instrument.

We then left and Sue took us to Ashton Middle School in Dunstable. The headmaster of Ashton, Mr. Nick Sharpe was delighted to have us. He said they were having some lessons about commitment this week and he felt our walk was a good example of this to the children. There were 600 schoolchildren waiting to meet us when we arrived. They asked Emmanuel to explain why he is walking barefoot, so he explained how and why he left Africa for Italy and then finally England and why now he is doing the walk. They children were surprised to hear that someone could walk so far in bare feet. He finally told them how privileged they are to live in this part of the world compared to other children in some parts of the world. He said he believes that young people of today will make the world a better place in the future.

As time was running short, the headmaster allowed one pupil to ask a question. Again, Tafi finished the meeting by singing the Africa Anthem "Nkosi Sikelela' iAfrika" (God Bless Africa)

Today, our day co-ordinator was Lawrence. He did a very good job today because we have a long way to travel at the start and end of the day. He got up at 3:00am today to pick us all up from our homes to travel to the walk. He was really tired on the way back so we stopped for 15 minutes at a service station to rest. (But he deserved it!).

Thank you Sue, Lawrence and the two schools for your help today.

Day 8 Northampton to Gayhurst

2008-06-24T12:24:00.001-07:00

Today was supposed to our resting day but it we scheduled to meet the Mayor of Northampton at 12 noon, so we throught that it would be in our best interest to get there early in the morning and cover some distance before meeting the Mayor.

Last Thursday was our resting day and we also had an appointment to Mayor of Leicester and other Humam Rights organisations. As this involved a return trip to Leicester, as well as the appointments, it did not give us a chance to recover. This time, we absolutely needed a full day of rest so by walking today, we could have a proper rest day tomorrow.

Because of all the changes that were made we did not have anyone who was able to drive us today. But numerous calls were made by Emmanuel and he managed to get Kwasi (one of the Derby for Africa supporters) to change all of his day's plans and drive us to Northampton.

We are half way to our destination now. There are so many things that we have come across since the begining of this journey. We have felt many emotions and had different kinds of weather, aching muscles, blisters, bush toilet breaks (!!!) and lots more!!! But we are still going forward.

We left Derby for Northampton at 4:45am and started the walk at 6:20am from where we stopped yesterday (near Northampton High School). We manged to walk 9 and a half miles to Gayhurst today.

The road to Gayhurst was the worst we have encountered so far. It was very hilly, narrow and winding with blind corners. There was no pavement and so Emmanuel had to walk on the rough road. We also had to keep stopping for the cars and the cars had to sometimes stop for us as well.

Along the way today, Emmanuel had a upset stomach and he had to answer the call of nature by using the bushes! This is now truly a walk of suffering!

At the end of the walk, we went through Gayhurst, just to the otherside and the roads there appear to be a lot better.

After the walk today, we went to the Northampton Borough Council House to meet with Cllr Brian Markham, the Mayor of Northampton and his wife Cllr Irene Markham. We were very kindly welcomed by the them. They promised to support our campaign all the way. They asked if there was anything that they could do to support us. Emmanuel explained that arrangements were already being made to meet with the Prime Minister. They Mayor said that the media were supposed to come. Thankfully a reporter from the local paper The Herald and Post did come and took some pictures and information.

We would like to thank Kwasi for rescheduling his day and driving and co-ordinating us in and around Northampton.

We have now done 72 out of 125 miles.

Day 7 Spratton to Northampton

2008-06-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

We left from Derby at 4:45am. Last night I still didn't know what time we were going to leave and I was still in bed when I got the call from Emmanuel at 4:00am this morning. I still managed to have get up, have a wash, and get dressed before they arrived.

Our walk started at 5:50am from Spratton Grange Lodge. Because of the long distance that we covered yesterday, we really struggled today - both Emmanuel and I have blisters from yesterday. I never really thought we would manage even five miles today, but we did 9.5 miles in all which got us past Northampton and on the road to Gayhurst.

We visited the Kings Thorpe Methodist Church in Northampton today. People we met there were really sympathetic for all the things that are happening in Africa, especially the current situation in Zimbabwe. They prayed for us and we received a generous donation from individuals including Grace Richards, Mary Winchombe and Norma Baxter. They were all really kind to us and wished us good luck on what we are doing.

Our day co-ordinator was Edwin who did a wonderful job like all the others have done. Without the co-ordinators and other supports we couldn't have got this far. Thank you to everyone who has been involved.

Day 6 Husbands Bosworth to Spratton (Grange Lodge)

2008-06-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today we left as early as 4:30am. As we get nearer to London, we have to leave Derby earlier and earlier in order to start the walk on time. We started the walk a couple of miles before Husbands Bosworth in Leicestershire at 5:38am. Before we started the walk Emmanuel and I agreed that we should really push forward today and try to get as much walking done as possible so as to ensure that we reach Northampton by tomorrow.

It was really difficult for us but we pushed ourselves to the limit today. Today is a very wet day but we did not have umbrellas or raincoats. Peter, our day co-ordinator had a rain cover from a pushchair in the boot of his car, so he gave it to Emmanuel to use to protect him from the rain (we both have high visibility yellow tops on but whereas mine is heavy and long sleaves, Emmanuel's was only light and offered no protection at all from the rain). The rain was really heavy at times and we got absolutely soaked including my shoes. One benefit of the rain however was that it made it easier on Emmanuel's feet as it kept them cool and wet. In fact, he had a blister a couple of days ago which we were very worried about but today Emmanuel said it was like a miracle because the skin had come off and it wasn't sore underneath.

We walked for five hours today, without a break. Peter kept asking us to stop but we were so determined to keep going in case we would stiffen up and wouldn't get started again. We met lots of people today including a farmer that Peter met while parked in front of his farm. He was interested to hear about our campaign and took a photo for us.

Emmanuel and I were very tired as today was the longest distance we had done so far. Doing this walk is harder than we thought it would be but it is a challenge that we are looking forward to completing.

We finally stopped a little past Spratton, outside Spratton Grange Lodge. We didn't know at this point how many miles to Northampton there were left to do tomorrow. Peter suggested we drive to see how far it is to Northampton so we got in the car and found that we were only 4.3 miles away from the town. Calculating the distance shows that we did 14 miles non-stop walking today!!! A great achivement, especially in the rain! Tomorrow, should be a very easy day.

At the end of the walk, we were very wet and cold. Peter had a big flask of hot water and some tea bags, coffee, milk and sugar, so while we were in the car driving to Northampton, we drank a very welcome cup of tea. His wife had also baked some cakes which we ate as well.

Thanks to Peter for co-ordinating this day and driving us to Northamptonshire and back. Thanks to his wife also, for her lovely cakes!

Day 5 Leicester to Husbands Bosworth

2008-06-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today we left Derby at 4:50am to get to Leicester Prison at 5:30am. When we arrived at the starting point, we found three people already waiting for us, ready to join us for some of the walk. There names were Priya Thamotheram (the head of the Highfields Centre from yesterday) , Saqib (the arts worker at the centre) and 17 year old Puja Ramji (secretary of Active Youth). They said they were there waiting for us since 5:00am. Puja told me that she couldn't sleep the night before because she didn't want to be late and miss the chance to walk with us. Puja and Saqib walked with us for 4 and a half miles whilst Priya managed three miles. I would like to thank all of them for their effort and the kind support they have given us. It was great to have six of us walking together.

When we were walking with the three from Leicester, we went past a local newsagent where all the customers who had heard that we were coming, all came out the shop and stood by as we passed. They all shouted words of encouragement for Emmanuel "Keep going, mate!"

Today, we were also joined by Tafi Mushuku who walked the 11 and a half miles with us today. (Tafi also walked the first day with us from Derby to Melbourne and joined us yesterday when we met the Lord Mayor in Leicester). He promised to join us again on the way, probably next week. It is not only good to walk with Tafi, but he is a great friend of ours s well.

We met a group of people when approaching Husbands Bosworth who said they saw us on the TV on the first day of the walk. They wished us good luck as we went past. It is great to know that the message is getting out!

The day co-ordinator was Phil O'Brien. Well done Phil - you did a marvellous job today, as always. Thank you so much for everything. We are looking forward to seeing you when we get to London.

Day Co-ordinator on Day 2

2008-06-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

At 11:30 we were greeted by many students and teachers at Stephenson College in Coalville - it was quite amazing to see them all waiting outside for us. In the atrium of the college, Emmanuel talked to the students about his situation as a refugee and the aims of the DAI. A reporter from the Coalville Echo took photos of the two walkers with some students. Emmanuel and Khumbula were both given lots of encouragement for their long walk ahead. Our thanks go to Lynette for organising our meeting with the college.

We arrived in Ashby-de-la-Zouch and met with a group at the Methodist Church, kindly arranged by Jill. We were generously provided with lunch. Khumbula and Emmanuel discussed with the group their experiences in Africa and how desperately the situation needs to change for many people there. Everyone that we have met has been so supportive.

We drove back to Derby. I suspect that the two weary walkers will sleep well tonight!!

observations on Day Five

2008-06-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

It has been my pleasure to be Day Co-ordinator for Day Five, so I thought I should contribute to the Blog, to add to what Khumbala will be entering.
It was an early start, up at 4.00am to collect Emmanuel, Tafi and Khumbala from three seperate addresses in Derby to drive to the imposing frontage of Leicester Prison to pick up where the walk finished yesterday. Waiting there were two supporters from yesterday, soon to be joined by Priya, to create a six strong group to head south down Welford Road in the direction of Husband's Bosworth. As Day Co-ordinator my life is easy, as I drive the car ahead of the walkers, stopping every mile for them to catch up and touch base. By 5.50am I was buying water, an hour later fresh bread and later still bananas, for the slow energy release they provide. I did feel guilty driving off and leaving them every twenty minutes, but I was able to check out some tricky junctions and guide them through. For the first four miles there were pavements, but for more than half of the morning there was no such luxury. We observe the Highway Code by facing oncoming traffic, but it is still scary when huge trucks thunder by.
Emmanuel coped well today and walked for five hours covering over eleven miles. Khumbala and Tafi do a great job supporting him, reminding him why he is doing this. In the car on the journies to and from Derby I learned a lot about African politics which is in the news today because of more violence in the run up to the election in Zimbabwe.
We fnished walking at 1030, just short of Husband's Bosworth, but a couple of miles ahead of schedule. The marker to start tomorrow's walk is planted and I have told Day Co-ordinator Peter where to find it.
It was a pleasure to help you guys in some small way - have a great day tomorrow.
Phil

Day 4 - Rest Day - Leicester

2008-06-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today was our “resting day” but we were invited to meet the Lord Mayor of Leicester Cllr Manjula Sood. She is the first Asian female Lord Mayor in the UK. It was a great honour to meet her. She wished us all the best on our campaign and she promised to support us in any way that she could.

Priya Thamotheram, the head of the Highfield Youth Centre came to meet us there and took us to visit the Refugee Asylum Seeker’s Advice Project and Refugee Equality Centre to meet up with the staff there. They wanted to understand more about the whole idea of our campaign. Emmanuel explained what the DAI is all about and they promised to support us as well.

Mr Priya took us out to lunch where we enjoyed the food very much.

We then went to Highfields Youth Centre where My Priya works. When we got there, he gave us a tour of his building. The centre hosts lots of different activities and includes a gym, a music studio, computer rooms, a games room, a library, a fashion studio, a craft room, technology studio, a graphic digital arts studio a prayer room, an indoor basketball arena, a cafeteria and lots more!!! Mr Priya has been working there since 1981!!!

We then met the staff and some young children playing in the indoor basketball court, kicking balls and playing around. He told the young children about us and asked us some interesting questions! One of them asked us whether we had walked all the way from Africa to Highfields Center! That made us laugh! Also, “how often do children in Africa eat each day?” And “are you excited to meet the Prime Minister?”

We then went to a room to meet with some teenagers. Myself, Tafi and Emmanuel each spoke in turn about our experiences in Africa and how and why we fled our countries. They teenagers were all fascinated by our stories and asked us some very good questions. Many of them said that they had seen our website and read our blog! At the end, we took a photo and made a list of all their names.

During the various meetings during the day many people offered to join us tomorrow morning for the start of our walk to Northampton. This will mean a 5:30am start to all those who come, to whom we are very grateful.

Our thanks especially go out to Priya who arrange a fantastic well organised trip. We would also like to thank Martin, Chris and Valerie for dropping us off and picking us up.

(Written by Khumbula Dube)

Day 3 - Coalville to Leicester

2008-06-19T17:30:00.001-07:00

Today we left Derby at 5am and started walking at 5:38am from just outside Coalville. The journey was longer the previous two days and a bit tougher also because of the hills on the route to Leicester. There was some places where there was no pavement so we had to walk on the grass along the A50.

For Emmanuel it was particularly difficult for him because his brother in-law died the night before (in Florida). It was brave Emmanuel and his wife for him to continue with the walk. His mood was clearly different today because of that so I tried my best to keep his mind off things.
Coming up toward Leicester a car just half a mile ahead hit the central reservation and overturned. Although the driver was thankfully unharmed, it did make us reflect on how vulnerable we are walking along the road.

We arrived in Leicester around 10:40am, approximately 12 miles covered. We have now completed our 30 mile part of our journey. We were very, very exhausted but didn’t have any appointments to meet anybody. We will be back tomorrow to meet the Leicester Mayor the Racial Equality Council and the Highfield Youth Centre.

Dave Callow co-ordinated this day and he did a marvellous job to check the route and supplying us with water and fruit and driving us there and back home.

(Written by Khumbula Dube)

Day 2 - Melbourne to Coalville

2008-06-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today we started at Melbourne Hall at 5:30am. Emmanuel was struggling to walk bare foot because his feet work swollen underneath and painful under the toes. So he tried putting a bandage on it but it kept coming off, so he decided to put some cream on his feet to see if that made them feel better. The road from Melbourne was very rough and there was no pavement so he eventually decided to put some flip flops on to protect the soles of his feet for the first part of today’s walk. We were very concerned that if he didn’t do this, he may be unable to continue with the walk.

Along the Melbourne route toward Staunton Harold we had a near miss a car that was overtaking from behind us. As we was walking on the right hand side facing oncoming traffic, the car was travelling very fast – maybe 80 miles an hour and its wing mirror missed us by only inches. I was really scared to walk along that road after being narrowly missed so we decided to walk along the grass verge until we reached a footpath.

Val, our day co-ordinator made our job easier today, looking out for us. We took some pictures of some different places. We took a photo of the sign saying “Leicestershire”.

We also passed a herd of cows crossing the road on their way for milking. We could see cars queued up ahead and we wondered how they would pass the cows. As we got closer, we could see that there was a “crossing” which the cars were waiting for to open.

After completing the day's walk, we visited the Stephenson College in Coalville and a church group in Ashby-De-La-Zouch. At this point, we were all very tried. The reception that we received however was excellent and well appreciated.

(Written by Khumbula Dube)

Day 1 - Derby to Melbourne

2008-06-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

After the speeches, songs and ITV Central interviews outside the council houses, we were on our way.

The former Mayor and Prof Jonathon Powers, Dr Dina Abbott completed one mile with us - the Mayor along with many others were also barefoot with us!

We passed St James’s C of E Junior School near the DRI. Children were outside waiting for us to pass and they clapped and cheered. Emmanuel spoke to them and told them how lucky they were living in England and having shoes because children their age in Africa go to school without shoes, food in their bellies, and that he believes that every one of the has the potential to become a Prime Minister and so they should listen to their teachers and work hard. He said that when they become the Prime Minister in the future, they are going to make the world a better place than it is now.

When we arrived at Chellaston School, the children were lined up along the road (there were loads of them to great us – maybe 100!). They cheered and Emmanuel spoke to them also. The teachers recognised me from a previous visit to the school and said they were looking forward to seeing me again in the future (after the walk).

About 20 people walked with us all the way till the A50 bypass. At that point some turned back leaving seven of us to continue to Melbourne. Two of them included Deepak, a BBC Radio Derby reporter and his colleague. Deepak interviewed Emmanuel along the route.

The walk went smoothly until we reached the Swarkstone Bridge. Here, we struggled to cross the bridge at this point. Deepak offered to climb the fence, cross the field and ask the farm owner whether we could walk on their land to the other side. Luckily the owners had watching our walk on the BBC and were happy to help and allow us to cross! Thanks Deepak! When we were crossing, there were calves in the fields looking at us and mooing at us and running around!!!

We met lots of people on the way. Some people who saw us thought that we might be African dancers or musicians (because of way Emmanuel and Taffy were dressed. Two ladies not far from Melbourne Hall gave us a donation.

When we were just outside Melbourne, we met the High Sherriff and his wife who were waiting for us. We then walked with them to Melbourne Hall. The Mayor of Derby also joined us for the final mile to Melbourne Hall. With them were the seven of us - Emmanuel, myself, Taffy, the two from BBC Radio Derby, Herbert and a lady called Fana just before 4pm.

On arrival more photographers were waiting for us and we were formally welcomed by the High Sheriff and we all had tea and biscuits with him and the Mayor. The vicar from the church was also there.

The High Sheriff offered to drive some of the walkers back to Derby which was very kind of him.

After placing a marker on the ground, Emmanuel , myself and Phil went back to Derby for a bath and a good night sleep. I will be getting up at 4:00am tomorrow!

(Written by Khumbula Dube)

Welcome to the Barefoot Walk to London Blog!

2008-05-11T18:28:00.001-07:00

This blog relates the the Derby for Africa Initiative action of Emmanuel Neba Fuh.