Londoner Walks 60 Miles Through The Night For FGM Awareness

#SamsWalkHome

-          31hr Gruelling Trek From Oxford To S. London-          Raised over £3,000 Towards Stopping FGM-          Part of International 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender Based ViolenceAt 3pm on Thursday 4th December 2014, Sam Barlow set off from Oxford city centre, where he works, on a gruelling 60 mile trek to his home in Clapham. Sam, the head of sales and marketing for online box office WeGotTickets, completed the exhausting walk at 10pm on Friday, all in aid of Female Genital Mutilation charity 28 Too Many.Female Genital Mutilation often leads to lasting physical and psychological damage to the 3 million young and infant girls who undergo the painful procedure every year in Africa.  According to a recent report by the UK Parliament Home Affairs Select Committee, as many as 66,000 girls aged 13 and under are at risk in the UK.When he heard these shocking facts, Sam felt compelled to take action. So, instead of celebrating his 31st Birthday with loved ones, he embarked on this epic challenge.Sam faced many trials along his walk including his “support group” failing to arrive at the first pit stop on time and briefly getting lost. However, he was kept going by the constant support he received via the Twitter hashtag #samswalkhome. Throughout the walk, Sam’s supporters could also follow him on a live GPS map from his website.By the end of the walk Sam had managed to raise £2,000 for 28 Too Many, twice his initial goal. Since the walk his total has continued to climb and is now over £3,000, including gift aid. Supporters can still donate by going to Sam’s JustGiving page, www.justgiving.com/SamsWalkHome.  As well as this impressive fund raising total, Sam had countless people, including FGM survivors, getting in contact to thank him for his efforts. He was particularly moved by survivors contacting him to say he had have given them hope that the situation can change.Said Sam Barlow “#SamsWalkHome was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I have done in my life. The closest thing I could liken the last 15 hours of the walk to would be falling off your bike and landing on your knee, and the doing exactly the same thing with the other knee on the next step. And then.... well, you ?get the picture. “At times, I really wasn't sure if I was going to finish. But the support, in its many different forms, spurred me on – FGM survivors getting in touch to thank me for doing what I was doing, strangers telling me that I had inspired them to do something themselves, passers by sticking cold hard cash in my hands and not to mention the 100s and 100s of tweets.“If you had have asked me if I would even consider doing something like this again at 10 o'clock on the Friday night – the time I actually finished walking – when I had my burning legs in a bath full of ice, I would have said "not a chance". But after hearing and reflecting on the positive awareness created, I think it's more of a "watch this space".“Something I wasn't expecting, was to be thanked, live on BBC radio, by an FGM survivor (@TheAlima) for my efforts.  Whereas at the worst of the walk, I was struggling to hold back the tears; hearing this I actually cried.“Although my walk is done, the fight against FGM is far from won. I did this walk to support the work of 28 Too Many. You can still support me (and them) through my website www.samswalkhome.com and see the latest of their work through theirs, www.28TooMany.org”The walk took place within the International 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, which ran from 25^th November until 10^th December; UN Human Rights Day.- Ends -Sponsorship Page: www.justgiving.com/SamsWalkHomeWebsite: www.SamsWalkHome.comMedia assets, including maps of Sam’s route and images of Sam, can be found here - www.samswalkhome.com/media-assetsTwitter: @WalkingSam | #SamsWalkHomeAbout 28 Too Many – (28toomany.org)Is a values based charity working to end FGM. Their primary focus is on research and enabling local initiatives to end FGM in the 28 African countries where it is practiced and across the diaspora.