A MAN walking from Birmingham to London for charity took time out from his trek to meet young people in Dunstable and Houghton Regis.
Jim Quinn is walking the full length of the Grand Union Canal to raise awareness of the 783 million people worldwide who have no access to clean water.
He stopped off at St Vincent’s Church in Houghton Regis and St Elizabeth’s Church in Toddington on Tuesday last week and met the MVE Youth Team, who have been raising money for Thirst for Change.
St Mary’s parish youth leader Rosemarie Duke said: “To have Jim come and share his experiences and passion with the young people makes it all much more real.”
Father-of-three Jim, from Worcestershire, began his journey on April 22 and arrived at his destination of 10 Downing Street yesterday to hand over a list of signatures in the hope that something can be done.
Jim said: “Water is life. It is as simple as that. We are privileged in this country to have instant access to clean water but for many millions across the globe that luxury is still a distant dream.
“People from the Midlands to London, who are connected with CAFOD, have shown so much support for this venture, offering to keep me company on parts of the route and also putting me up for the night.
“It’s a real show of solidarity and very heart-warming to know how much people care about others in the world and are prepared to take action.
Jim is a campaigner for Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, which works with communities in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, working to fight poverty and injustice.
For more information, visit www.cafod.org.uk/thirst.