Offaly Camino Challenge set for August Bank Holiday weekend

The countdown is well and truly on for the rescheduled 4th Annual Offaly Camino Challenge Canal Way Walk in aid of Self Help Africa.

There has been a massive response to the event in the last few years and ‘The Offaly Camino Challenge Canal Way Walk – West Offaly to East Offaly’ this year will be a real Camino walk over two days. People can walk the full Offaly Camino from Shannon Harbour to Croghan Hill a total of 50kms – West Offaly to East Offaly - over the 2 days or can join us at anytime over the course of the event.

The public is also invited on the last day on August 1 to walk from Tullamore's Fiona Pender monument before leaving Tullamore at 9.30 am and walking along the canal to Croghan Hill finishing with a special Mass at 2.30pm on Croghan Hill. This will be followed by a BBQ with teas and coffees and lots of goodies and raising much needed funds for Self Help Africa an Irish Charity which works in ten countries in Africa.

All donations on the day of the event will be gratefully received and will go directly to the charity. Self Help Africa is dedicated to ending hunger and poverty in rural Africa. Over 250 million people in Africa, farmers and their families, suffer from malnutrition and are struggling in extreme rural poverty without enough food; left behind by rising economic growth.

Self Help Africa is a leading international development charity with an expertise in small-scale farming and growing family-farm businesses and has many agri-finance programmes and responds to emergency situations within the ten countries they work in Africa.

The charity is motivated by injustice, by its expertise in small-scale agriculture, family-farm business and agri-business, and the opportunity tjey have to help small farmers change the lives of their families. Self Help Africa is also the charity of the Irish Farmers Association.

Food and beverages will be supplied throughout the Camino walk and we thank local sponsors for this. After the walk there will be a BBQ, snacks and tea/coffee for all walkers at the end. It is advised to pack a change of clothes which can be transported to Croghan hill for you.

Please can you let us know if you will be doing the entire Camino Route and the charity will fix you up with sponsorship cards and an online donation page to collect much needed funds for the charity.

People can join at any stage along the canal over the two days and they don't have to do the full walk. They can join at any of the bridges and any place along the canal walk from Shannon Harbour to Croghan Hill over the two days or if people would just like to meet us at the foot of Croghan Hill for 2.30pm/3pm for the walk up Croghan Hill or mass on Sunday, August 1 they are welcome to join us and give a little donation to the charity they are more than welcome.

In total we will cover 50kms, and we are asking friends, neighbours, businesses and individuals if they would consider joining us to take part in the walk either in person or virtually as we take up this Offaly Camino Challenge to raise much needed funds for the charity Self Help Africa (see www.selfhelpafrica.org).

The walk will begin at 8am on Saturday, August 31 after Mass at 7am after which the participants will begin walking from Shannon Harbour to Tullamore mainly along the Canal and finishing on Saturday evening at Eugene Kelly’s and Digan's pub area along the canal in Tullamore.

The walk will then resume at 9.30am on Sunday morning the 1st of August at the Fiona Pender memorial, again along the canal to Croghan Hill where we will finish with mass at 3.30pm on Croghan Hill.

We would encourage everyone and anyone to take part, enjoy the beauty of nature, take in some exercise and do something very worthwhile for charity. If you would like to participate or join us and others in walking any distance over that weekend please feel free to join us over the 2 days either in person or maybe you might want to do it virtually from the area of where you live. Either way we would love you join us and support in any way a very worthy Irish Charity – Self Help Africa.

If you would like a sponsorship card or would like to make any donation large or small, please contact: Laz Molloy, Croghan, Rhode, Co. Offaly; or Ricey Scully, Charlestown, Clara, Co. Offaly or Paul Galvin, Durrow, Tullamore, Co. Offaly

Also you can donate online at various Facebook/social media fundraising pages set up by the participants taking part that has been set up with 100% of the online donation going to the charity

If you would like to be part of this special event for such a needed cause please contact Laz Molloy on 0866778807 or Aislinn Molloy 0870688530 or Ricey Scully 086 8153047 or Paul Galvin 087 8375407 to register for this Camino or you can make a donation to the charity on the day if you join us for any part of the walk or at the mass on Croghan Hill.

If any company or business or individual wants to offer sponsorship we are looking for people or companies to sponsor one of the KM’s of the walk and we will dedicate that KM to the sponsor.

The walk will maintain a pace which is suitable to people of all levels of fitness. Also if anyone would like to sponsor a kilometre of the walk we will be more than welcome. Please see details about the Offaly Camino Challenge and further details about the charities work on www.selfhelpafrica.org

You can also contact Ronan Scully on (087) 6189094, visit www.selfhelpafrica.org or email ronan.scully@selfhelpafrica.org