Santiago in sight for Brown

At the going down of the sun tomorrow evening, Donna Brown will arrive in Santiago where her aching legs will finally be perched.

Starting on July 1st, Brown set out to walk a trail that spans for over 300 kilometres on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Northern Spain. Brown has scaled over 280 kilometres thus far and despite having an injured knee, the finish line is in sight and she's not slowing down.

“My knee was bad for a couple of days from the continued stress,” Brown said.

“Stopping hasn't been an option. I’d have to be completely immobile to stop. I’ve seen people have to give up through injury and it’s devastating.” “My friend Ian from Lancaster has made the decision to continue, by hook or by crook, even though his feet have become completely lacerated.” Brown describes her experiences thus far as a thought provoking journey. She explains that to effectively get to the next stage of her walk, she’s placed herself into a solid rhythm.

“You kind of get into a rhythm of pace which clarifies your thinking in a way that isn’t possible to replicate in mainstream life.”

“I’ve thought a lot of letting things go that I haven’t got control over. It’s been kind of cleansing metaphorically to “leave things here”.

“I’ve thought really hard about my friends, family and students/ex students and families who have autism or who have been touched by suicide”.

Brown explained that her thoughts expanded to how challenging life is for some, and says that she hopes that she can continue to ‘lend a hand’ in trying to making a difference.

As part of her pilgrimage, Brown is fundraising for Lend a hand to Hugo and fellow Tasmanian charity, Speak Up! Stay ChatTY! She says that the two causes have increasingly became important to her as she’s gone through her career as a Teacher.

“I’ve been a passionate supporter of education in both areas for some time but I've also had a fair degree of life experience in both".

“I just think that it’s incredibly important that we shine a light on things that we perhaps don't understand. In looking at them more closely, and with more expertise around it, we can support more people who need it".

When speaking directly about Lend a hand to Hugo, Brown shared the following: “My big take-out for autism awareness came around after hearing what one of my fellow pilgrims said when we were discussing her son. She said to me, “we need to see the ability in everyone”."

“In addition, I’ve become much more clearer in wanting to work closer with my colleagues in learning support back at my school, to find ways to promote opportunity for our students with ASD to demonstrate to the wider community the many talents and abilities they have.” A Lend a hand to Hugo committee member herself, Brown said, “On a personal level, I’m looking forward to working more closely with LAHTH in the educational space, so I can help the charities’ schools based programs to thrive”.

Pre-walk, Brown set out to raise $5000 to be evenly split between her two beneficiary charities. On the current online donation platform, her supporters have managed to raise $2,895 (excluding fundraising efforts from her school (TBC)).

If you’d like to contribute to Browns efforts, donate here.