Hot on the heels of post 5 which was late, I am playing catch up with post 6!  The last one ended up taking me far more than 28 minutes because of distractions so I am determined to keep this one short!  It is an unashamed plug  and demand for money too!

Today is a rest day.  Not just a rest from work since it is Waitangi Day, but also a rest from walking.  This week (starting from last Saturday)  I have walked 85km.  I have a blister under my little toe which is sore.  Any advice on healing blisters fast gratefully received.  Tomorrow I will walk 20km and on Sunday we are walking 30km along the Waikato River Trails.

Why? I think I mentioned in my first post that I have committed myself to completing the Oxfam Trailwalk on 28th March.  I might also have mentioned it again in Post 3.  And in Post 4.  No apologies – training is taking up quite a lot of my time, energy and thoughts at the moment.

I am building up plenty of resilience (Post 5) and I think I am going to need it.  Big style!

But the people we are raising money for have to show far more resilience than we in western developed countries can even imagine.  For us, it might be grappling with new approaches in teaching and learning, it might be managing that awkward class last lesson on a Friday afternoon.  It might be getting our own kids off to school, tidying the house, hanging the washing out, getting the car to the garage before we can get to work.  It might be grumpy colleagues, or it might be that idiot pulling out in front of us at a roundabout.  Of course, I am being a little frivolous and there are plenty of people in western countries who have to deal with serious issues at any time in their lives.  I am not saying that we don’t have to deal with family members or close friends with debilitating and life-threatening illnesses, or that people in western countries all have roofs over their heads and enough food in their bellies.  I know that there is poverty and need in all countries.  But I have travelled to some developing countries and I have seen poverty on a completely different scale.  All the things we take for granted; clean water, shelter, health care, education, safety from persecution – things that are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are not necessarily there for people in other parts of the world.  Oxfam works to provide aid but also sustainability, training young people, giving them lost skills which are culturally appropriate and consistent with the environment in which they live so that future generations can thrive.

So, and here is the plug – please consider supporting us as we walk 100km in good shoes and warm clothes, supported by friends and family to help those who often have to walk long distances in extreme weather conditions to collect water, food, go to school or escape persecution.

Here is the link to donate (you can even offset it against your tax!)