One man and his dog, and a lot of determination
WHEN Akira volunteer Lee Harker announced he was planning a 240 kilometre walk to Valencia and back over six days to raise €10,000 for Akira’s Angels, quite a few of even the dog charity’s most ardent supporters were sceptical. Isn’t 240km in six days (the equivalent of a marathon a day) somewhat ambitious however fit you are? And isn’t €10,000 a lot to raise in these harsh economic times?
Well, Lee has confounded those doubters. He has indeed completed the walk in six days, setting off from Moraira dog park at 08.30 on Monday, January 30, and arriving back there on Saturday, February 4 at 17.25. Yes, he has blisters on his feet and an exhausted body but he is also tremendously proud not only of himself but of all the people who have donated money to his GoFundMe page. The current total is €10,456 and donations are still coming in.
“Lee’s strength, determination and stamina is an inspiration. His motivation for the walk was to help us fund improvements to our existing facilities to create a better life for those dogs in our care,” commented Lin di Stefano, Akira president.
Lee was determined to raise as much money as he could for the new facilities being planned for the Akira Sanctuary, which are going to cost at least €50,000. Much of the training for the walk was done in a gymnasium on board a ship – Lee works for a company installing offshore wind turbines in Asia. “I had to reach the point where I knew my body could cope with walking 40km a day. It was hard, I admit, to go to the gym having done a 12-hour shift.”
Lee also overcame his natural shyness in front of camera to share a daily video diary, hoping it would encourage people to follow him and donate. “I’m grateful to everyone who has donated and for every single euro – it was great motivation to carry on. I’ve been blown away by all the words of support every day of the walk. It’s kept me going when the going got tough!”
When possible, he liked to make a small detour to walk along the beach. “True, the sand is more energy-sapping but the views are wonderful and there is the added bonus that I could often see my destination town, Cullera, for example, in front of me, even though it might be another 10km before I got there! One of the hardest parts of the walk, says Lee, was the final few kilometres to the hotel in Valencia on the third day. “What I thought was going to be a couple of kilometres detour to avoid traffic on the main roads, became more like 6km – not ideal at the end of a long day!”
“It’s been a privilege to be able to do this walk and to raise €10,000. It’s been six days of hard work and harsh for my body, but in the end, it is only six days. Some people and some animals have to tolerate much worse pain and hardship than that and for a much longer period of time.”
“We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Lee during his hike with messages and donations,” says Lin di Stefano. “We could have not raised as much without supporters spreading the word and sharing his daily video diaries.”
“I also want to thank the Premium Bar in Moraira for hosting Lee’s welcome back event and to everyone who came to celebrate his return and make it a great evening.”
There is still time to donate to Lee’s GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/ b8fc3014
More details about Akira can be found online at: https://akira-animals. com or via their volunteers page: https:// akira-angels.org
Facebook: akiraanimalsanctuary YouTube: https://youtube.com/@akira animalshelter
Instagram: AkiraAnimalSanctuaryBe nissa
Akira Dog Sanctuary is located at La Pedrera Poligono Industrial, Benissa.
Email akiranewsletter@gmail.com or call 657 689 567 for further information.