120.000 Children between 4 and 14 years old are displaced in Colombia as a result of guerrilla attacks on small towns in the country every year. Of those, 90% have gone to the main cities where the resources are insufficient to support them. Most are growing up without help, living in the streets in the poorest conditions, eating every few days and even sleeping in the sewers. Most of the children are forced to beg, are vulnerable to violence and abuse. Most of them will never reach their 18 birthday. Most of them will die alone and forgotten.

As an external member of the St. James’ Church community in Piccadilly for the last 5 years I have learned about the ancient Way of St. James; a pilgrimage that runs into Santiago de Compostela, the capital city of the province of Galicia in Spain. This long and difficult route has long been used by pilgrims paying penance for their sins or giving thanks for their blessings.

I have decided to do the pilgrimage on my off-road bicycle, starting in St. Jean Pied de Port in France, over 900km across the Pyrenees, the Leon and the Galician mountain ranges, in the traditional way, unaccompanied and unsupported, from September 21st, as it started over 1000 years ago.

I have decided to mix both causes in one and do the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to collect funds for “Children of Colombia” a small UK registered charity that aims to help very poor, sick, abused and abandoned children in Colombia as well as offering the penance of the pilgrimage as a reward to all the generous donors and their families.

 

Please give freely and help us to help them.

 

Antonio de Mendoza

London