Reached destination after 14,000 kilometers: Schweizer (41) runs from Bern to Philippines

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Struggling with back pain and tears in his eyes, Thomas Kellenberger, 41, reached his destination in his children’s village in Mindanao a week ago. Children and staff were happily waiting for him, singing and waving small flags.

Prior to that, the Swiss were received at the town hall in Cagayan de Oro by the mayor Rolando Uy (68) and Céline Fürst, the official representative of the Swiss embassy in Mindanao. “I am not built next to the water, but looking at the children, I could not hold back my tears. It was very emotional for me,” says Kellenberger Blick. When he arrived at the children’s village, some children and teenagers also shed tears.

Thomas Kellenberger – as everyone in Bern calls Thom – drove 14,300 kilometers. The plan was to walk all the way from Switzerland to the Philippines. Among other things, the war in Ukraine and the unrest in Myanmar forced the Bernese to use other routes and divisions by plane. He walked “only” 14,100 kilometers and cycled 200 kilometers in tandem before reaching the children’s village in Mindanao, where Kellenberger, a former police officer who has been studying social work since 2019, also found his second home and job of his life.

Challenges and crises along the way

“Helping children is my passion,” says Bernese. She made the adventurous journey on foot and raised money for another children’s charity project in her new home, she. “There were moments when I thought about giving up and cried,” she says. He remembers two cases of food poisoning and a fall in the Indian Himalayas, which was painful but fortunately not so bad. “I was careless. It was already dark and my head was no longer really focused. The fall could have been bad.” The challenges were also the Pamir Mountains and transporting the suitcases in the desert with a source of drinking water. He would usually be alone for days in the desert, in the mountains, or in the forest.

His journey took him to 22 countries. On average, Kellenberger ran stages of about 45 kilometers. He made the longest one-time march of 140 kilometers in 23 hours in Vietnam. The Swiss had to take an involuntary hiatus in the Philippines a few weeks later. Dehydrated from the heat and tropical climate, he had to be treated in a clinic for cramps and cardiac arrhythmias, and was only able to slowly resume his walk after several days of recovery.

new lover

Sometimes strangers or acquaintances accompanied him for a piece. Rachel Gose (32), a long-time teacher and head of one of the girls’ homes in the children’s village, also walked with the Swiss for a few days. Kellenberger explains that outside of work, there is ample time to get to know each other, exchange ideas, and fall in love. “But this relationship is very fresh and still needs to evolve.”

During his final days in the Philippines, he was accompanied by a television reporter and two former police colleagues. Together with the Swiss, they walked about 70 kilometers through the woods, remote villages and slums of the city of Cagayan de Oro to the official reception at the town hall and from there to the children’s village. “I am very happy with this surprise from my former colleagues from the cantonal police in Bern and their company. That’s why I wasn’t completely alone in the limelight when I arrived,” says Kellenberger.

Alone in big cities, acquaintances in villages

Kellenberger got on well with being alone on the road. For him, walking was also a way of coping with the grief that followed the death of his mother. At the same time, the new project of helping children during a nature walk became more and more concrete in his mind. “I felt lonely and a bit lost in the crowd of anonymous big cities like Dhaka in Bangladesh, where extreme air pollution also bothers me,” says Kellenberger.

It was much easier for him to come into contact with the locals in remote villages, and he was invited to stay or dine. “People were interested in me and talked to me. Especially children everywhere are very open and curious. This made me particularly happy », says Berner. The warmth, helpfulness and hospitality of all countries as well as intense nature experiences were impressive to him. This changed his worldview. “I have seen a lot of poverty and misery, but the world is not as bad as it seems. Nobody wanted me badly.”

Medically prescribed rest on arrival

Kellenberger has not yet met its donation target of CHF 165,000 for the new children’s village. He managed to collect 110,000 francs with his walk. “But we can start construction soon. We have a few plots in mind to take a look at,” said the Swiss.

However, Kellenberger needs medically prescribed rest because, upon his arrival, he was already actively engaged in street work in the red-light district and slums where he cared for affected children and youth. by those suffering from poverty or exploitation. She then had to go to the hospital for three days with colds and back pain. “For the past two months, I’ve overused my body to come back as planned, and now I need to recuperate to be able to work here again,” says Bernese.

Lessons and planned book project in Switzerland

At the end of June, Kellenberger will fly to Switzerland for lessons. He plans a book about his adventurous journey and charity project.

Even though Swiss’s batteries are empty right now, he’s full of optimism for a good cause: “I’m confident we’ll get the remaining money for the new children’s village and operation together.”

Source : Blick