Jake Norris (Australia) and Sean Down (Ireland) are happy to trek across Vietnam to raise funds for charity. (Photo: Australian Embassy) HCM City (VNA) – Two expat teachers, JakeNorris, 37, from Australia, and Sean Down, 45, from Ireland on February 24finished their 2,000-km walk from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City after three monthsto raise funds for underprivileged children.
During the walk "Vietnam Charity Walk: A Walk ForChange", they raised 35,000 USD through the site gogetfunding.com/vietnam-charity-walk/ to support charity foundations dedicated tochildren in Vietnam.
They set a target to raise the fund to 200,000 USD andwill send all the funds to local charity organisations to develop supportactivities for disadvantaged children, and anti-human trafficking.
Jake planned to publicise a photobook with about 60photos taken during their journey to raise more fund.
Jake came to Vietnam sevenyears ago, and Sean Down came to Vietnam five years ago. Initially, both ofthem planned to stay in the country for a short time and then continuetravelling to other ones. However, their love for Vietnam kept them stay inHanoi, and working as English teachers in the city. They became close friendsbefore taking the journey together.
The idea for such a journey came when Jake and histeammates at the Vietnam Swans AFL Club usually visited an orphanage in Hanoievery year to give gifts to children there. Through those visits, Jake foundthat children in Vietnam face many difficulties. He wanted to do something tochange the situation. His ambitious idea for a charity walk began taking shapethree years ago, during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jake started the walk with a friend who withdrew from theplan later.
Sean accepted to become Jake’s new companion, together"reviving" the charity walk.
Jake and Sean halted their teachingjobs in May 2023 to focus on training and fundraising. The journey hasattracted the attention and support of individuals, companies, and communitiesfrom around the world, including the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.
In December 2023, the duo departed from Hanoi OperaHouse, walking a 2,000-km route along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Sharing the reason for choosing the difficult route, Jakeand Sean said they wanted to challenge themselves because this route is longer,not crowded, and has many hilly sections. In addition, they also want to takethis opportunity to learn and interact with local communities in the placesthey visit and raise awareness about disadvantaged children in Vietnam.
Every day, they started walking at 5 am and stopped atabout 3 pm. Unlike Jake who is used to exercising, Sean said it was quitedifficult for him to keep up with his friend. In addition, both arevegetarians, so it’s not easy for them to find suitable food, plus the weatherchanges constantly, which makes Jake and Sean sick many times.
“It’s really been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” saidJake. “We’ve just had three months of intense highs and lows. We struggled tofind food at times, and we had an entire week of torrential, freezing rain.Over the last month, the temperature has soared and we’ve been doing 35 km perday in 40°C heat. So now we’re often up and out the door by 4am to avoid theheat!”
“The other side is the incredible interactions we’ve hadand the friends we’ve made. People have been wonderfully generous with theirtime, money, and accommodation. Not a day has gone by that someone hasn’tstopped their bike to offer food or water.”
ꦰ “We’re going to miss those daily affirmations of peoples’kindness.”/.
