An international mountain leader is walking 70km this month for vulnerable communities around the world.

Alan Ward, 72, is taking part in a ‘70k in May’ challenge, as part of Christian Aid Week 2024.

The idea is to cover 70 kilometres in whatever way you like, in solidarity with millions of people who have to walk long distances for clean water or to sell their produce.

Alan, who provides mountain navigation and outdoor First Aid training in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, explained: “Every year, during Christian Aid Week, people across Britain and Ireland raise funds, act and pray for their global neighbours in a celebration of hope for a fairer world. 

“I’m doing 70km in May in the Bannau Brycheiniog, with walks of varied lengths – and without too many steep sections! The final trek will see myself and a few friends summit Pen y Fan on May 28 - something big to finish on!

“I have fond memories of the Christian Aid Challenge Walks in the late 1970s as a Scout in the 1st Brecon Scout Group. I can still remember my first one, which was in 1968, from Builth Wells to Brecon.

“Since then, I have led many treks around the world, including 20 in the Himalayas, five of which were to the Everest Base Camp.”

Supporter walk 1968 from Builth Wells to Brecon
Alan remembers taking part in the supporter walk from Builth Wells to Brecon in 1968 (.)

Money raised during Christian Aid Week will help the organisation’s partners empower vulnerable communities to find practical and sustainable ways out of poverty.

This year’s appeal - from May 12–18 - is focussing on work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges: more than 70 per cent of the population live in poverty and more than half of children are chronically malnourished.

Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable and diverse incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.