Dearest friends,
We wish to express our gratitude to all those who sent their good wishes for Jean's birthday and the 10th anniversary of his walk! Unfortunately we have not been able to reply to all of you because, as you will read, this period of "mid-2010" was of an astonishing intensity.
So many things happened that I have to summarize quite a bit and thus it is inevitable that we seem to be ignoring important contributions of help and sympathy from so many friends. Please accept my apologies, but rest assured that all your support is well preserved in our records and your gestures of kindness will never be forgotten.
Before I begin to tell you about the wanderings of the walker, I would like to inform you that on last February 21, I attended to the first screening of a documentary film on the WWWalk at "Les Rendez-vous du Cinéma québécois". You can see a brief overview on the official web site: "Des ailes aux talons".
On July 15, Jean enters the Post Office at Batemans Bay to collect a parcel containing warm underwear sent to him by Shirley and Brian Phillips of Gosford. Do not forget that we are in the heart of the winter in Australia and if there is no frost, the weather is rather chilly. Fortunately, ever so friendly Australians offer him warm nights in their home rather than let him shivering in his tent.
On July 25 we receive an email from Dezma and Adrian, a New Zealand couple that Jean met in Kathmandu in May 2008. During their brief meeting, they had promised Jean that they would do their best to make his walk in their country a journey as pleasant as possible.
In Cann River on August 3, Jean chanced into a "Landcare Network" meeting where he met Penny Gray. Penny hastens to contact members of the association, "inviting them to support the walker by providing him accommodation and thus participate in his epic journey." Once more a new chain of hospitality is formed along the southeast coast of Australia.
Contacts are spreading like wild fire... email or phone invitations reach Jean as well as through the Rotary Clubs network. At the same time a freelance reporter writing for newspapers in Germany, Austria and Luxembourg interviewed us. His story was published in 5 European newspapers. At the same time also, through the Canadian Consulate in Sydney, we make contact with the representatives of Associations of Canadian in Melbourne (Nick Michaels) and Hobart (Jill Hudspeth) and with those of New Zealand. These kind people are quick to form new hospitality chains in their respective regions.
Yet at the same time, Rosemary and Bayly Tanner of Wellington, NZ join our angels Dezma and Adrian from Auckland to organize the wwwalk across the country.
It goes without saying that we are kind of busy!
In Yarram on August 18, Gemma and Paul Martin commemorate the 10th anniversary of the wwwalk! Communications continue to multiply and we notice that the end of this decade has taken a significant dimension.
The walker also receives invitations to host conferences and spread his message in schools or various associations. He must unfortunately decline many of them due to lack of time while the Canadian Club of Melbourne prepares a community event for Sept. 4.
In the rain, around twenty walkers meet at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne at 11am. Even if the weather is not very inviting, the athletes are in a good mood!
Jean takes advantage of his stay in the city to go one last time to a Paddy Pallin store and get with a discount his 48th pair of shoes. Linda and Tim Norman as well as their children and David Ludovici and his family are happy to host him in awaiting his passage on the Spirit of Tasmania, on Sept. 7, bringing him to Devonport, Tasmania.
Meanwhile in Hobart, Jill Hudspeth is far from being inactive! She holds an impressive list of contacts that she informs on Jean's route and the means to assist him in spreading his message of peace. Mrs. Lynn Laycock, Mayor of Devonport greets the walker when he gets off the ferry and the welcoming spontaneity of the Tasmanians leads him to the far end of the island, in Port Arthur where ends the Australian leg of the WWWalk on September 23.
His flight to New Zealand being on September 29, Jean spends the next 5 days with Jill and her family preparing for the penultimate big transit. A final conference in a school, a meeting with the Lord Mayor of Hobart, Mr. Rob Valentine, who gives the walker a letter from Prime Minister of Tasmania, conclude with a flourish his year-long visit to Australia.
Dezma and Adrian as well as Rosemary and Bayly, organizing committee of the WWWalk in New Zealand perform miracles! They managed to get several supporters for the WWWalk in their country.
A recreational vehicle sponsored by Kea and fueled with sustainable energy provided by BioGold will accompany the walker across the country and Bayly will be driver. The National Commission for UNESCO in New Zealand has put the walker on its website and WWWALK is on Facebook.
In all these accomplishments, Jean was more concerned with the cause of peace for children. He wanted a serious organization to join these efforts to capitalize on non-violence towards children. Immediately, the committee took care of it and we had the pleasant surprise of a positive response and Jean becomes their spokesman.
Barnardos is the organization for children that will deal with logistics and promotion under the capable wing of Deborah Morris-Travers. She will take care of volunteers for segments of the walk and of outside supporters at institutional, corporate and individual levels. The goal is to raise funds throughout the 3 and half months of walking and raise awareness on the theme of the Decade for Peace for children.
Air New Zealand has generously provided all the plane tickets for Jean, from Australia to Auckland, a flight within the country and the most awesome, the flight from Auckland to Vancouver, January 30, 2011.
I have yet to complete the list of generous benefactors of this so welcoming country, but rest assured, each and everyone of you, of our most profound gratitude.
Dezma and Adrian greet Jean upon his arrival in Auckland and accommodate him with much love until his departure for Christchurch, October 6th. From there Bayly takes charge and after retrieving the RV and communication equipment kindly supplied by Telecom NZ, the pair drives to Bluff at the southern end of the country where Jean begins the 2,000 km walk to the North, on October 11.
The week he spent at Dezma and Adrian's in Auckland was filled with intense activities: introduction of the WWWalk in New Zealand by the media, visits to Barnardos facilities and the Powhiri, a very moving civic welcome on which Jean writes:
"Today, they made me experience a full load of emotions. It was one of the most astonishing greetings I've had the honor to be given. As I told you, Waitakere (this city as well as 5 other towns on the periphery) is soon to be merged with the Great Auckland and the ceremony was timely. They acknowledge the WWWalk with a remarkable accuracy through these welcoming Maori rites."
Other important news: in Montreal, with the help of a man with a heart of gold, whose profession is "Designer" we are working on a complete and total remake of our website. Wait till you see it... you will find that it is absolutely genial! It should be online around the end of December. Meanwhile we are working really hard to compile and reformat all data.
And then... steps have already been undertaken in Canada to organize the wwwalk in our country. The new website will provide news on current events as they occur so you will not have to wait 3 long months for the newsletter to see what is happening with the walker.
So... there are 2 very important dates to keep in mind:
1 - The brand new website coming online, a Christmas present for all
2 - Jean's arrival in Vancouver on January 30th
Wishing you happiness, love and peace!
Luce