May 17th 2008 English Report

Breaking news!
Nanning and Henry have been in touch with Wim de Groof from Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI). Today, Friday 17 May, the BWI union has called a press conference on the sponsored walk with Henry as guest of honour. Like CLN, BWI is committed to stamping out child labour. Besides providing financial and promotional support for the walk, BWI is going a step farther and will be posting regular updates on its own website http://www.bwint.org/. BWI is also urging the French and Italian unions to donate to CLN by sponsoring the walkers.

Posted by Joyce on Childlearn sponsortocht on 5/16/2008 10:00:00 PM

Nanning and Henry were given an enthusiastic welcome by the mayors of Tazilly and Luzy. The press also showed a keen interest. All the more reason for Noëlle, owner of the camping site, to make a fuss of Nanning and Henry by serving them drinks and snacks. Below you can see the photos of the guys arriving, the – long awaited – beer, the welcome by the mayors, and the reception where – needless to say – the wine flowed freely.

Posted by Joyce on Childlearn sponsortocht on 5/16/2008 05:36:00 PM

Nanning: "It was tough going, but it has been an enriching experience that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. The first week was the worst. In fact, I was already knackered on day three. The weather was terrible, we weren’t getting enough food, we went to bed and got up at the strangest times… I completely lost my rhythm. It was physically hard, but the mental strain was the worst. If Henry hadn’t been around with his pep talks, I think I would have given up. Mon Ami, Henry. We already had a great friendship, but this experience and the dependence on each other have brought us even closer. I’ve lost a lot of weight, but what else can you expect if you have to skip meals sometimes and you get more physical exercise than at any other time in 60 years? Haha. You have my solemn promise though, I will never ever do this again. But I am so proud of Henry and myself for finishing what we started. I do not doubt Henry’s stamina and determination for one minute. He will definitely make it to Rome."
Posted by Joyce on Childlearn sponsortocht on 5/16/2008 05:55:00 PM

After one day of rest, Henry started out on the second part of his walk to Rome. The first two days were pretty tough, not just because he was walking alone, but because he had no one to talk to in the evenings. Only logical after having walked all those weeks with Nanning. If nothing is happening on the camping site at least you can keep each other entertained. He expects to arrive in Rome around 1 July. If the recent achievement is anything to go by, he is sure to succeed. He has already clocked up almost 300 kilometres.On the first day Henry stopped for the night in Verovres after a hard uphill slog. The camping site was on a slope near the town hall. They let him pitch his tent there free, but he was alone. However, there was no shortage of activity at the next camping site in Macon. In fact, Henry didn’t sleep a wink because of a disco that went on till 2 a.m.The terrain is getting steeper and steeper as Henry approaches the Alps. He has been unlucky with the weather, but he did meet a Belgian who offered him the customary Belgian hospitality in the form of a lift and all sorts of fancy food. Henry resisted temptation and politely refused the lift and the food – because it would only have weighed him down.To be continued. Posted by Joyce on Childlearn sponsortocht on 5/16/2008 09:37:00 PM