From home town to Hong Kong

A FORMER Dumfries woman is walking over 8000 miles to Hong Kong to raise £1 million for various charities.

Kate Barr, 30, set off from Burns Statue on April 19, travelling entirely on foot as part of her journey across Europe and Asia.

She is documenting the experience online while raising awareness and support for causes deeply connected to her own life and family.

In addition, she is fundraising for three charities: Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH); The Befriending Project and The Usual Place.

Kate chose SAMH after experiencing mental health challenges herself and living with Asperger’s syndrome. She selected The Befriending Project because her mother worked there for more than 20 years, and The Usual Place because of the support it has provided to her autistic sister.

She said: “I want people to realise that normal people can do extraordinary things.”

Now over a month into her journey, Kate has passed through England, the Netherlands and is now heading through Germany.

After arriving in Weeze last Wednesday, Kate said: “I loved my time in the Netherlands but entering a new chapter felt very exciting.

“The last five miles of today were very painful and I spent half an hour in the shower tonight just slowly washing my feet. They were so sore. A little worried about how torn up my feet are moving forward. However, it’s all part of the learning curve.”

Kate expects that her global charity trek will take her 18 months, and her journey will take her towards Turkey before continuing through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China to finish at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.

So far Kate has raised £1159.26 through her fundraising page. While her fundraising target of £1 million is ambitious, Kate hopes the journey inspires others to contribute in whatever way they can.

To donate visit: givestar.io and search ‘Dumfries to the dragon’.