[WATCH] President launches El Camino for Malta Community Chest Fund initiative

President launches El Camino for Malta Community Chest Fund initiative • Video by Ray Attard

President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca launched a campaign in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund, which will see volunteers taking part in the Camino de Santiago walk through France and Spain.

The walk, undertaken since medieval times by pilgrims from all over Europe, ends at the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried.

Participants, through the Maltese campaign, can choose one of three walks. The first, at 800km, begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in southwestern France. For this walk, participants must collect at least €2000 in donations. The walk will take five weeks.

The second walk begins in Sarria, Spain, and will be 112km long, taking five days. Participants will need to collect at least €700 in donations.

The third walk will begin in Tui, on the Portugese border with Spain. It will also take five days and will be 120km long. Participants will need to collect at least €700 in donations.

Participants will be provided with transport and lodging but will need to purchase flights themselves. They will walk an average of 25km a day.

The three walks will culminate at the cathedral in Galicia, on the 23 May.

Last year, a record 240,000 pilgrims undertook the journey.

The group organizing the event, lead by Mario Scerri, will also be organizing fundraising events in Malta. Participants can attend free training sessions four days a week, while a two-day hostel experience will prepare them for their journey. A ‘two-island challenge’, on 8 February, will see participants walk 49km from Gozo to Birzebbugia against a €20 donation.

President Coleiro Preca praised the initiative, considering it representative of the best qualities the Maltese have to offer.  “It never ceases to amaze me how such a small population can come up with original ideas to help others,” she said.

“This is not a holiday – 800km is no joke. Strength and endurance, values the Community Chest Fund endorses, are important here. The walk is a spiritual, not a religious journey – it allows for reflection on one’s own life and how one can help others.”