“Life is a balance between giving and receiving. The more you give,

the more abundance will fill your life with joy.”

Debasish Mridha

The primary goal of my three treks was to raise £30,000 to support vulnerable women and children in Sri Lanka. These funds have gone to support grassroot projects managed by Women’s Development Centre (WDC) in Kandy, and the UK charity Their Future Today (TFT) based in Galle. WDC’s mission is to empower and uplift marginalised women, children, and other vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, while TFT focuses on transitioning children out of orphanages and into supportive families environments.

Objective 1

My first objective was straightforward: to trek from Galle in southern Sri Lanka to Jaffna in the north. I made this journey by walking, an epic train journey to get around some of the mountains. and with the support of a back up driver for part distances.

My journey was a culmination of the previous nine years spent volunteering, researching and working with WDC both in-situ and from a distance. I completed Stage One of my trek – approximately a third of the overall distance – during March/April 2022, Stage Two during 2023 and then Stage Three which I completed in during April 2024. I funded all my own flights, leave from work, and all other expenses. Therefore, 100% of all funds I raised and continue to raise goes directly to help those who need it.

Girls in the Women’s Development Centre refuge learning to weave to help them overcome the effects of gender-based violence

Objective 2

My second and ongoing objective is to help revive Sri Lanka as an incredible tourist destination post COVID lockdowns and the political unrest. Tourism is vital to Sri Lanka, with one in ten people relying on it for their livelihood. Fazarna Dobbs, chief curator at Sri Lanka specialists Travel Gallery, hopes future visitors will engage in more immersive travel experiences, delving deeper into Sri Lanka’s rich culture.

As Earnest Hemmingway said, “It’s good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” For me, my journeys to Sri Lanka have been about understanding the places I pass though and the people I meet along the way. I embrace immersive travel, exploring lesser-known off-the- beaten-track locations. I document these experiences in my daily blogs, whilst travelling, hoping to inspire my readers to want to visit, and further in my forthcoming book: Trekking Sri Lanka: From Galle in the south to the Island’s northernmost tip.

While Sri Lanka has endured far more than its fair share of tragedies – such as a 25-year Civil War, the impact of the 2004 tsunami, the Easter 2019 terrorist attacks, COVID lockdowns and more recently significant political unrest – I highlight the many positive aspects of this Island I’ve come to love. 

Get involved!

If you’d like to support this cause, please visit my Fundraising and Advocacy page. Here are some ways you can help:

• Attend a fundraising event
• Host your own fundraising event
• Volunteer your skills and time in Sri Lanka, or teach skills to girls in refuges over Zoom
• Donate via Marcia Summers is fundraising for Their Future Today (justgiving.com)
• Join me for part of my new trek next year 2025 when I plan do the 300km Pekoe Trail
• Sponsor the education of a Sri Lankan girl in a remote area, enabling her to continue her education beyond age 14
• Follow my blog, comment, and share it to help raise awareness
• Buy my forthcoming book Trekking Sri Lanka: From Galle in the south to the island’s northernmost tip, with a proportion of the proceeds going to support those who need it in Sri Lanka

For more background on how I became involved, read my article The holiday that changed things, as it is key to understanding my journey.

Map of Sri Lanka with the route I took highlighted in green