Dear All,

The time is running so quickly and I just cannot believe that in less than one month I will be walking 261Km (just over 162 miles) from Porto to Santiago (early April 2019)! This will be surely the experience of the lifetime for me (many more will follow for sure), but will certainly change me as a person and my perception about life in general.

Few other friends will join me on this adventure, and we are very excited but also quite nervous as we do not know how we will cope with the challenge. Talking about myself, so far I had zero time to train for this as work and my clients have been my priority so I am a little bit apprehensive but probably the most excited and enthusiastic about this challenge, experience and most importantly the CAUSE.

First, I like challenges… especially when I am a bit overwhelmed with work, I tend to look out for escape routes to give me the boost I need to keep going….

Some of the challenges I decided to do really put me outside my comfort zone and at times I really doubted I would be able to get to the finishing line, but giving up even before trying is not really my thing. Those that push themselves and their body to an unknown level know what I mean… The feeling of getting to the finish line is just amazing… it feels like all the pain goes away, even if for a few seconds, tears of joy often comes out of my eyes for conquering another challenge…. The feeling is indescribable.... The trouble with this is that when you enjoy this kind of challenges that you tend to push yourself to the next level up…. I always thought of Santiago Way and before I decided to take on this challenge there were just too many signs pointing to Santiago…

So, I thought, why not…? This journey would allow me to introspect about life and to evaluate what is important for me as a person. It will be a mind-blowing experience for sure that I would like to share with others…

This cause is something I wanted to do for a really long time too… but never had the opportunity nor the time. Xmas is to be celebrated with family, right? But what about those that do not have a family or even a place to stay?

By donating you will be helping me to put together a plan of providing homeless people a decent Xmas celebration and depending on the resources providing them something memorable for this Xmas. Hopefully the group walking experience will give them the light they need to see life a little bit differently and hopefully will give them the boost they need to try to change things in their life too… Everything in life is possible, sometimes you just need a little push to get you going, so hopefully we can all make a difference with this cause... (dual meaning).

For this to work and cause the impact I really want we need volunteers that would be able to help us prior and on the day of the event. We need volunteers that might include lighting people, DJ's, a space to organise the event, a place where homeless can have a shower, so probably a sports hall with a kitchen or something of that sort that would allow us to organise everything in a single space. We need clothes, toiletries, we need groceries, we need kitchen staff, a good chef(s) that can take on the challenge of cooking for all of us. We need someone to design and print leaflets and distribute them. The list is endless but that is what is exciting about this... we can all give a bit of ourselves and our time in pro of others! I like challenges and I cannot express in words how thrilled I am about this! Can you put a price on someone else's smile? I can't, but I will tell you something the experience is fulfilling and makes you feel great as a person!

Have you seen the powerful and beautiful symbolism of the Santiago Way logo? All the lines (ways) direct you to the same central point... Like if we all join forces we can make a powerful, positive and meaningful statement in the society? This is what my cause is all about!

Please help me making this Xmas memorable not only for the homeless but also for all the organisers and volunteers and the society as a whole!!!

PS: None of the donations will be used for the purpose of this trip to Santiago. The group doing the walk (me included) will be self supporting with all the expenses to include flights, accommodation, food etc. I am sure that all of those that do know me already know this, but I just thought of stating this anyway in this page, in the event of this page being shared and might reach people that do not know me personally. Also if you wish to donate food, clothes, volunteer, or you know someone that might be able to help with the venue etc, please send me a private message and feel free to share this page too...

For this to be a success there is quite a lot I need to organise and many things will only be possible with people's generosity. Finding a suitable venue free of charge is probably one of the hardest things and I am well aware of it. So if logistically it is not possible to organise this event, all the funds will be donated to a charity whose objective is to help the homeless.