Trekker turns fund-raiser for leukemia-stricken kids

WORTH EVERY STEP
On the road for a 2,500-km advocacy walk that he hopes to finish in 80 days, Ian Salaysay has encountered not a few cynics along the way. But it would take more than that to stop the outdoorsman who also holds leadership seminars on the side. FROM IAN SALAYSAY’S FACEBOOK PAGE

His love for outdoor adventure coupled with a soft spot for kids has been fueling Froilan “Ian” Salaysay in his advocacy walk to raise funds for children with leukemia.

Salaysay started his estimated 2,500-kilometer walk-for-a-cause on Oct. 1 in Aparri, Cagayan province, with the aim of raising funds for some 250 indigent patients at the National Children’s Hospital (NCH).

Arriving in Metro Manila on Oct. 28, he set out for the next leg on Saturday starting on Timog Avenue, Quezon City, this time joined by fellow mountaineer Danilo Vargas Jr. With a route that includes 35 cities, 26 provinces and over 140 municipalities, he hopes to finish the walk within 80 days in General Santos City.

At first, the 35-year-old native of Bulacan province simply aimed to set a record for the greatest distance traveled on foot, but when he saw the situation of the afflicted kids at the NCH, “I forgot about the record and just thought of helping the children.”

“These poor patients cannot pay for treatment. Sometimes, the hospital gets funds from the PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office), but these funds are limited,” he said in an Inquirer interview on Saturday. “If no one helps the hospital, I will consider this advocacy walk a failure.”

With only three sets of clothing, a hammock, cooking utensils and rain gear, Salaysay had been walking from town to town and spending the night at the headquarters of fire volunteers.

He often found himself explaining what he was doing to curious—and often cynical— observers. “Sometimes they didn’t believe it [and dismissed it as] just another gimmick.”

But his friends would encourage him to go on, even sending him pocket money. “I was really touched when someone told my mother that I was doing a good thing. In response to that, she said: ‘’Yan lang ang meron kami na kayang ibigay na tulong. (That’s the only thing we have that we can share in order to help.) We’re not rich.’”

Salaysay has been into mountaineering since high school. After a stint working in a call center company, he worked freelance as a team-building lecturer and leadership trainer. He has also started a business that capitalizes on his passion: building climbing walls and zip-lines.

One of his primary sponsors for the advocacy walk is Vista Venice Resorts in Morong, Bataan province, where he works as a facilitator. Also helping him raise funds is GMA 7 news reporter Cesar Apolinario.

Interested donors can send money directly to the NCH, a government hospital located in New Manila, Quezon City; or pledge P1, P5 or P10 for every kilometer covered by Salaysay.

Ian Salaysay. FROM IAN SALAYSAY’S FACEBOOK PAGE