On the afternoon of Tuesday July 16, Pam Brooks was welcomed by a crowd of supporters and well-wishers, gathered at Winchelsea Beach, to celebrate the completion of her amazing 90-mile sponsored walk along the Sussex coastline.
To celebrate her 90th birthday in November, Pam has walked from Selsey Bill to Winchelsea Beach over 12 days, taking in Bognor, Rustington, Shoreham, Rottingdean, Seaford, Eastbourne, Norman’s Bay and culminating in the nearly 12-mile section from Hastings to Winchelsea Beach.
Having worked for many years in Burundi with her husband Pat, Pam was determined to raise £10,000 for a literacy and financial education programme run by the Mothers’ Union in Burundi.
The programme, started in 2000, has helped women to read and write and to start businesses and community-led savings and loans associations. It has enabled more families to afford higher education for their children, and given them access to health insurance, as well as increasing their financial independence.
Pam arrived at Rye Bay caravan park, to a caravan run by the Mothers’ Union to help give families the holidays they would otherwise be unable to have. A thanksgiving prayer was read by Christopher Breeds, before Pam was given a much-needed cup of tea, cakes and sandwiches and presented with a 90th birthday cake.
Looking fresh despite the long walk, Pam, who regularly returns to Burundi, gave an example of how the project can change lives. “One woman I know had put money each week into the Mothers’ Union savings and loans programme. First she used some of the loan to buy seeds to grow peas and beans which she sold. Then she bought a pig which had piglets which she sold enabling her to buy sheep, then a cow and finally she could buy a motorbike which she uses to provide a taxi service.”
Asked how she felt, Pam said that it had gone very well. “My team worked out the distances and timings of the walks, train times and all the practical things. All I had to do was walk!”
To date Pam has raised over £10,000 via her just giving page. You can donate to this important cause here.
You can find out more about the amazing work of the Mothers’ Union here.
Image Credits: Juliet Duff .