One week ago today we told you about an Airdrie woman’s fundraising walk between Canmore and Banff, and back again, to help Rohingya refugees who have been forced to walk from Myanmar to Bangladesh since last August to find safety from the violence they've been subjected to in their home country.  

Karly Brandt planned to walk 44 kilometres to raise awareness of the plight of the Rohingyas and to raise funds for a medical clinic which has been established by Samaritan's Purse.  

Brandt says she has bad news, and good news, about her walk.

First, the bad news. “We got a ton of snow over that weekend and the trail I had picked wasn’t maintained so I wasn’t able to walk as far as I had hoped which was a little bit disappointing, but I was still able to do quite a bit.”

And now, the good news. “The most exciting part is I was able to reach my financial goal of $1,500 that I had set. All of that money is going towards the diphtheria treatment centre in Bangladesh for the refugees through Samaritan’s Purse. That was just really neat to see that come together and the support that I got from people around me. That was great!”

Samaritan’s Purse, the organization Brandt works for, has set up a medical camp in Bangladesh to deal with an outbreak of diphtheria that has affected thousands of Rohingya refugees and claimed more than two dozen lives.

Brandt was moved to go on the walk in the Alberta Rockies as a small example of what the refugees have had to go through on their walk to find safety.

Brandt says she’s still determined to complete her walk along the Legacy Trail. She laughs, “I plan on finishing in spring once the few feet of snow melts and there’s actually a path there to walk on.”

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