Walk to Health: 10,000 Kilometres to Break Chains and End Stigma

sIn many parts of rural Nigeria today, people living with mental illness are still being chained, flogged, or locked in isolation. Not because their communities are cruel, but because of fear, stigma, and a lack of alternatives. Not because families don’t care, but because they’ve been failed. By systems. By stigma. By silence. The 10,000 Kilometres Walk to Health is our answer. From May to July 2025, we are walking across Nigeria, the UK, and beyond (to raise awareness and funds, yes), but more than that, to walk with purpose.

💛 Walking to Ban, Stop, Prevent

Walk347 was created to challenge this reality. This year, we’re taking that challenge one step further. From May to July 2025, we’re inviting people around the world to join us in walking 10,000 kilometres to raise awareness, promote safer care, and support the next phase of the BanStopPrevent Mental Health Advocacy Project.

We walk for every person struggling with a mental health condition. We walk for every parent who wants to help but doesn’t know how. We walk for every healer willing to change, if only someone would walk alongside them.

🌍 Why 10,000 Kilometres?

Because every single day, someone somewhere is suffering alone. Because walking is what we do when we want to show up. Because 10,000 kilometres is not just a distance. It’s a declaration:

“This matters. We will not look away. We will keep moving until change comes.”

We are a movement of ordinary people (students, nurses, retirees, youth leaders, brothers, sisters, parents, friends) tying our laces for one shared goal:

To Ban harmful practices.
To Stop stigma.
To Prevent isolation.

💰 The Goal: £10,000

We are raising £10,000 to support:

• Community education in Apumiri, Nsukwe, and Mgbarakuma

• Training for traditional and spiritual healers on safer, inclusive mental health care

• Monitoring and evaluating our pilot interventions

• Local outreach, led by volunteers rooted in the communities they serve

Every pound you give helps us reach one more person. One more home. One more healer ready to do better.

Donate Now

👣 How You Can Join

You don’t have to walk 100 kilometres to make a difference. Start with one.

1. Walk solo or in a group

2. Track your distance — daily, weekly, or all at once

3. Share your walk using #Walk347 #WalkToHealth and #BanStopPrevent

4. Tag us @Walk347 @NASPC1952

5. Invite your community to join you

6. Share our GoFundMe page and help us meet our target

Whether it’s 1km or 100, your steps mean something. They say, “You are not forgotten.”

✊ Why This Walk Is Different

We’re not just raising awareness. We’re raising communities.

This walk is rooted in the lived experiences gathered during our BanStopPrevent Mental Health Advocacy Study. A project that engaged over 300 voices across three rural communities. We’re building change from the inside out, hand in hand with those who matter most: traditional leaders, healers, caregivers and affected families.

🗣️ Final Word

If you’ve ever felt powerless in the face of injustice... If you’ve ever wished you could do something... Now is the time.

Walk with us and let your steps echo into homes, hearts and healing.

For more information, contact us at:
📞 +44 7957 373893 (UK)

Franklin Umunna
Walk for Health
Project Coordinator