Plucky teens to tackle 280-mile London to Paris trek for EFDS
A group of teenagers from North East London are hitting the trail on 28 March until 6 April, walking 280 miles in aid of the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS).
Maliha Reza and Amy Lee, 17, and Kieran Goodwin and Friday Piccio, 16, are trying to drum up £5,000 of sponsorship, to be split equally between EFDS and Cancer Research UK.
And for Amy, it’s all about demonstrating that teenagers can show get up and go.
“We are teenagers, and we feel that teens don’t get a lot of credit,” she explained to EFDS. "The stereotypical teenager is lazy and doesn’t do much, and we want to prove that that isn’t the case. And part of that is us completing this 280 mile walk.”
Her teammate Maliha agrees: “We want to prove that there are teenagers out there who can do this sort of thing. It is already having an impact, people seeing what’s possible. We are doing it while balancing all our schoolwork. Anything is possible.
“I think some people assume that teenagers are not capable of a lot of things. People need to think outside the box – many adults don’t do a lot, whereas many teenagers do a lot and yet don’t get the credit.
“We want to see people treating teenagers properly, realising that we are just as capable of doing things as adults are.”
35 miles a day for eight days
The four teens have set up their own charity, the World Youth Organisation (WYO), and have pushed for financial backing for the walk, which will commence in Croydon on Saturday 28 March and will finish in the French capital eight days later.
That will require the teens, who train together every Sunday and help each other balance their fundraising with their schoolwork, to cover an average of 35 miles a day.
But Amy is confident: “We train every weekend. Usually we use our Saturdays for fundraising activities because during the week we have college and work. So on Sundays we actually train – we walk 20+ miles at a time, just working on that.
“This Sunday we walked to Lakeside, in Thurrock, and back, all the way from Hornchurch. It took us 28 miles, and we had to set off at 08:30 and didn’t get home until 18:30. We set aside every Sunday for a walk, unless there’s a family event. Usually all four of us walk together, all training together.”
“On the way to Paris we’ll carry a first aid kit, water and so on, and we’ll also have a support car with us to keep an eye on each of us,” adds Maliha. “We have youth hostels and campsites planned on the route.
“Training is good. We’ve all become immune to it, whereas at first it was a big shock because we didn’t realise it was going to be so difficult. But now we can walk 20 miles and it’s not so bad.”
Katy Perry vs The Smiths
What motivates the trekkers, aside from determination and bottles of water? It turns out to be never-ending conversation and MP3 players.
“We talk a lot, just about life to kill some time, and we also film some video along the way, which is really funny,” says Amy.
“But you can zone out and listen to your own music, and that passes the time really well.
“On my playlist I listen to a lot of Katy Perry, actually! That helps with the walking. One of her songs started playing yesterday and I just went into the zone. It was Part of Me – when that comes on I’m gone, I’m powering to Paris.”
Maliha’s music tastes are, it is fair to say, less pop and more rock.
“I quite enjoy indie music, so the likes of Two Door Cinema Club and The Smiths.
“And our group is really close, so we’re able to talk to each other about anything. It keeps us going – we have a lot to talk about. We have a lot in common.”
There are many people who fundraise for many charities. The question is, why are these four teens raising money for EFDS and why should you consider supporting them in their Parisian quest?
“We are all really passionate about disability sport, and it’s something I’ve been really interested in from a young age”, explains Maliha. “It inspires me to push forward and try as many challenges as I can.
“All of us are really interested in sport. I’ve been to EFDS events before where I’ve seen people who have been told in the past that they couldn’t do something, but who have broken through barriers to do amazing things.
“We want to support a charity who can inspire people and help people. EFDS does that, which is why we’re so supportive of it.”
We'll be following their trip and wish them the best of luck with their challenge.
