The Journey
After 25 years in Australia, Huw plans to revisit his European roots, crossing borders and cultures. A journey that will immerse him in the culture of the Mediterranean countries of Europe, North Africa and The Middle East. A journey that will take place against a backdrop of challenging economic times in Europe, particularly for those countries bordering the Mediterranean. A journey that will take place as a number of North African and Middle Eastern countries face new challenges and build new democracies following the Arab Spring. Huw will travel by foot, rowboat, kayak and mountain bike via magnificent land and seascapes; through 20 countries over 15,000km in 12 months.
The Anzac Centenary
mediterr année will have a very important and meaningful link to Huw's Australian home. On 25th April each year Anzac Day is commemorated. On this day in 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Mediterranean beaches of Gallipoli in Turkey. There followed a bitter eight-month campaign that saw thousands killed on both sides; Anzacs and Turks. The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word 'Anzac' to the Australian vocabulary (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) and creating the notion of the Anzac spirit; the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship. Gallipoli has special significance to many Australians and New Zealanders and is Australia's most important national occasion.
Anzac Day in 2015 commemorates the Centenary of this important moment in Australian history and will be a major event for Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.
Huw plans to set off from Anzac Cove, the name given to the site of the main landings in Gallipoli, on the day after Anzac Day in April 2014 and to complete the journey one year later in time for the Anzac Day Centenary in 2015.
The Fundraising
A major reason for undertaking the journey is to raise funds for Save the Children to assist the work they do to help children adversely affected by conflict around the world. The commemoration of the Anzac landings 100 years ago during WW1 is one part of the equation of the mediterr année project. Help for those needlessly harmed physically, economically and psychologically today is another; one that will certainly help drive Huw through difficult times during the journey.
Full details on the fundraising element of mediterr année can be found HERE
Amount Raised So Far - $86,000 (as at 15/08/15)
Save the Children is one of the world's leading independent emergency relief and development organisations for children. They aim to save and protect children's lives and strive to give every child a safe and happy childhood. One of the saddest aspects of any war is the children who become injured, orphaned or traumatized during conflicts. Save the Children work in such conflict zones as Syria, The Congo and Afghanistan to offer assistance directly to such children.
The commemoration of the Anzac landings 100 years ago during WW1 is one part of the equation of the mediterr année project. Help for those needlessly harmed physically, economically and psychologically today is another; one that will certainly help drive Huw through difficult times during the journey.
Save the Children is excited to be the Charity Partner for mediterr année and look forward to working with Huw and the sponsors of the journey to maximize the funds raised by the project. Full details on the work carried out by Save The Children can be found HERE
On behalf of Save the Children Australia, I would like to wish Huw every success for his mediterr année expedition raising funds to support the work that we do. Work that ensures children affected by conflict, their families and communities not only survive, but also see a tomorrow where they can live without fear, without unnecessary suffering and with hope. We wish Huw all the very best and ask you to support him on this very ambitious and gruelling journey.
Nicola Krey, Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Save the Children Australia
Hover over each photo to see description
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Nadia *, one and a half, is screened for malnutrition by a Save the Children health officer at her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border.
Nadia and her family are living in a small tented refugee settlement, in a small dark tent with very few basic necessities on the Syrian border. The whole family have now received Save the Children support to help them buy the food, water and medicine that they need. Save the Children is also monitoring the camp for signs of malnutrition and completing health 'outreach' visits.
Thousands of children and their families continue to stream into neighbouring countries. Most of those who've escaped are living in makeshift shelters, unsuitable buildings or in overcrowded camps, amid growing shortages of food, medicine and water.
Save the Children is helping children recover from their experiences within Syria and across the region, to make sure they can access education and to ensure that families have the basic necessities they need to survive - including healthcare, warm clothes, nutritious food and shelter materials.
Photographer's Credit
Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
* names have been changed to protect identities
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Nora *, five, attends a Save the Children run Child Friendly Space at a community centre in Lebanon, near the Syrian border.
Thousands of children and their families continue to stream into neighbouring countries. Most of those who've escaped are living in makeshift shelters, unsuitable buildings or in overcrowded camps, amid growing shortages of food, medicine and water.
Save the Children is helping children recover from their experiences within Syria and across the region, to make sure they can access education and to ensure that families have the basic necessities they need to survive - including healthcare, warm clothes, nutritious food and shelter materials.
Photographer's Credit
Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
* names have been changed to protect identities
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Marjan, 10, goes to school in a village just outside Tirin Kot, the provincial capital of Uruzgan in Southern Afghanistan. She is one of two health education facilitators trained by Save the Children.
"I like health education lessons very much, because I learned a lot of things which I never knew before. For example I never brushed my teeth before and I did not know that flies can cause illness and that fruits we get from the garden should be washed before we eat them"
"I want to become doctor in the future, because I learned a lot of things about health in the school and my girl friends and father say that I will become doctor in the future"
The Save the Children School Health Education project aims at raising the health and hygiene awareness among children and to bring changes in their practice through establishment of children's groups in each school and introduce health and nutrition screening for all children as they enter school for the first time.
Photographer's Credit
Mats Lignell/Save the Children
* names have been changed to protect identities
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Young Syrian refugees watch a game of football being played in a multi-activity space run by Save The Children at Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan during a visit by YouTuber Lex Croucher as part of the Save The Children's 'Save Syria's Children Campaign' on Tuesday 27 August 2013.
Around 130,000 refugees are currently living in the camp, over half of whom are children. Save The Children distributes food to all the camps' residents, which includes distributing half a million pierces of bread every morning.
Save The Children also provides child-friendly spaces and multi-activity spaces for children and young people to receive psycho social support, come to terms with their situation through play, foster a sense of community and learn new skills.
Photographer's Credit
Sam Tarling/Save The Children
* names have been changed to protect identities
As well as fundraising through general donations, Huw is also offering a unique fundraising twist - the opportunity to pay a set amount for each of the countries that Huw will traverse, indicative of the challenge each country represents. Perhaps your workplace, community group or bunch of friends could be the patron of Huw's expedition through one of the 20 countries or for the ascent of Mt Blanc?
You can purchase a country for Save the Children by visiting Huw's donation page
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/donate/huwkingston
Hover over each country below to see how Huw plans to travel through it
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Greece - 1500km - Sea Kayak
$1,501
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Spain - 1700km - Bike+Kayak
$2,010
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Albania - 350km - Sea Kayak
$1,002
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Gibraltar+Straits of Gibraltar - 30km - Kayak
$1,011
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Montenegro - 120km - Sea Kayak
$1,003
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Morocco - 400km - Bike
$2,012
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Bosnia - 20km - Sea Kayak
$1,004
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Algeria - 1500km - Bike
$2,013
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Croatia - 600km - Sea Kayak
$2,000
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Tunisia - 300km - Bike
$1,014
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Slovenia - 50km - Bike+Walk
$1,006
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Malta - 400km - Row from Tunisia
$1,000
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Italy - 1000km - Walk
$4,007
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Egypt - Now being bypassed
$2,016
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Switzerland - 150km - Walk
$1,000
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Israel & State of Palestine - Now being bypassed
$1,017
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France - 1800km - Walk+Bike
$4,008
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Lebanon - Now being bypassed
$1,018
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Mt Blanc-Europe's Highest Mountain
$2,000
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Cyprus - now being bypassed
$1,019
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Monaco-4km - Walk
$1,009
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Turkey - 3200km - Row+Bike+Sea Kayak
$10,020
(Huw reserves the right to change the route or mode of travel planned for each country!)
All donations are made in Australian Dollars (AUD). Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.