In 1945, 300 children were airlifted by the RAF from Prague and taken to convalesce in the Lake District after surviving the Holocaust. They became known as the Windermere Children and had mainly been rescued from Terezin. It is a story of hope, survival, forgiveness and strength. Some are still alive today and bear witness to the Holocaust. This has inspired Regenesis.

Regenesis, a new non profit CIC started organising treks tracing the footsteps of the Windermere Children between Terezin and Prague. It was first completed in 2022 and re-run in 2023 in support of a Holocaust Education project documenting survivor stories. We called it the Windermere Route after the 1945 airlift. The route symbolically turns away from the atrocities at Terezin demonstrating freedom of movement.

More treks are planned for this year, one combines a team of 16 youth movement leaders (age 21-25) on the challenge and we had hoped for Heritage Funding, however as the event is not in the UK this funding is not possible. We do not want to see such a unique and moving experience denied for the intended participants.

The intended group are all role models in their respective youth movements, and we would like to subsidise their trip as much as possible to encourage participation and so that the funds they raise can be committed to education projects and they can spread these messages of free movement. Each place fully funded is £900.

In the UK, an iconic new route Hale (on Mersey) to Hale (Cheshire) has been established as an endurance event for companies and charities to use to fundraise and benefit from Regenesis' philosophy. The first event is May 2024 and many, many more are planned. Any charity or community CSR project is welcome to adopt the route using our logistics and welfare planning.

As our treks cover a fairly remote routes, we need to be well prepared and have the opportunity to leave a medical bag in Prague for the international treks, including buying our own lightweight defrib rather than renting and transporting one for each trek. The lightweight trekking defrib we want costs £2,000 and the rest of the equipment over £1,000.

For further information, or to participate in another trek see regenesis.org.uk or giantwalk.org