Walking 7,000km from Europe to Asia to do charity for Vietnamese children

To raise funds to support poor children in Vietnam, Mr. Simon Niggli (Switzerland) and Mr. Christoph Obmascher (Austria) walked 7,000km through 19 countries in 13 months.

Departing from Switzerland on January 18, 2015, the two men walked through many European countries and reached China. From here, they continued their journey by train and bus through Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and the final destination was Vietnam.

Simon and Christoph traveled to Tram Tau District (Yen Bai) in the last week of February and Lang Chanh District (Thanh Hoa Province) in the first week of March to visit two children they sponsor through World Vision. The money they raised during their trip will be used to support World Vision’s educational activities for children in the two districts.

For the past 15 years, Simon has been a dedicated sponsor of poor children in Vietnam. After traveling to the S-shaped country in 1999 and developing a special affection for the people there, Simon contacted World Vision and began sponsoring a child in Vietnam. In 2012, Simon took on another child, Le Xuan Khang, in Lang Chanh district after the first child grew up and left the sponsorship program.

Meanwhile, Mr. Christoph has sponsored Phang A Tua in Tram Tau district since 2014. During the meeting with Tua and his family, Mr. Christoph shared:

“We met many wonderful people along the 7,000km journey. There were many scenes of life that made us sad. However, the strange thing is that the poorer the people, the more willing they are to help and share... Through this journey, we hope to call for more kind and generous hearts to improve the lives of poor children in Vietnam - the country we love."

Simon and Christoph quit their jobs and prepared for the trip for two years. They carefully researched the routes and weather conditions, and met with potential Austrian and Swiss sponsors before the trip. Austrian and Swiss television stations covered the trip.

The sponsorship program is part of a long-term (15-year) development program implemented by World Vision.

To date, approximately 30,000 individuals from 14 countries are sponsoring more than 70,000 Vietnamese children through World Vision. The sponsorship program supports children and their families in activities such as education, nutrition, livelihood development and promoting children’s rights.

According to vnmedia.vn