Laois marathon man completes 1,200km challenge for children's charity

NEPALESE man Praveen Rawal (29), who lives in Mountmellick, completed his mammoth challenge of walking over 1,200 kilometres throughout the 26 counties to try and raise €50,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation, but more donations are needed to reach his target.

Praveen started his mammoth challenge on St Valentine's day at the Spire on O’Connell Street, Dublin at 7am and he finished at the same landmark on St Patrick’s day at 7.30am before the parade began.

The challenge was motivated by his desire to give back to the people of Ireland who welcomed him in 2022. The challenge took him 32 days; he walked for 29 days and rested for three days along the way. His longest walk in one day was from Boyle in Roscommon to Castlebar in Mayo, which is a distance of 79.5 kilometres. Two ladies walked with him for ten kilometres of this huge stretch.

The Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) charity supports four hospitals under the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) umbrella, namely Temple Street, Crumlin, Tallaght and Connolly in Blanchardstown.

Praveen, who works for National Broadband Ireland, spoke to the Laois Nationalist about his monumental challenge and some of the difficulties he faced along the way, which, he said, included finding accommodations each night, walking through pain in all types of Irish weather, sleeping outside on one of the nights in Newcastle West in Limerick and spending a night sheltering in a garda station in Cavan.

He said: “I read lots of heartbreaking stories about sick children in Ireland and how entire families are affected by the children’s illnesses. Because I don’t have much money to donate to the worthy charities myself, I decided to walk the 26 counties to raise funds to help those sick children and their families.

“The CHF supports the vital work of the CHI hospitals and urgent care centres. The money raised will help fund lifesaving treatments, equipment, research and family support services for children living with cancer and other serious illnesses. My pain from my challenge is temporary, but theirs lasts for months or even years. My body will recover within a month, but these children face endless hospital visits, long nights of uncertainty and invasive treatments. Their courage and the strength of their families is what inspired my challenge. I felt they were with me all the time, which is why on my Facebook videos I would always say ‘we’ are walking rather than ‘I’ am walking, even though I was alone.”

 Praveen has only lived in Ireland for a few years and, maybe, he has set foot in more towns and villages than most natives. 

When asked what stood out to him on his journey he said: “Ireland is a beautiful country and the people are great. I found that Ireland is not just Dublin, Cork and Galway and that there’s many other beautiful counties full of wonderful towns and villages and spectacular sights. A lot of the life has gone from many of these amazing places maybe because people have left because you see lots of family-run businesses closed down. People should be breathing life back into the rural parts of Ireland and visit and holiday in them more.

“Overall, it was a great experience to see so much and the people were very supportive of me for what I was doing. Many people stopped to offer me lifts everywhere because they thought I was stuck. Some others phoned the gardaí to say that there’s a man walking on the roads who might need help. When one of the garda units came along, they gave me an extra high-viz jacket in case I needed it. Everyone I met was very nice and kind.” 

To donate to this worthy cause, search Praveen Rawal’s Walk the 26 Counties Challenge for Kids on Enthuse. Praveen can be found on his social media pages by searching Walk the 26 Counties and he can be contacted directly on 089 9790397. 

Praveen wishes to thank everyone who supported him along the way and those who have already donated. He also wants to thank people who make donations before Friday 1 May.