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Most of us are happy to just let the days go by with nary a care for our fellow human beings. As long as troubles do not affect us, we don’t seem to worry about our fellow man. Most of us anyway.

However, every once in a while someone comes along that decides he needs to do something to make a difference. On Sept 9, David Wu started a walk from Kuala Lumpur to Kelantan. He had initially only told about six close friends about this seemingly insane idea of his and I reckon most of us thought he was crazy.

We were supposed to be his support team. A team to give him encouragement, to monitor his progress, to help pick out routes for him and also to update social media on his progress. And of course, should any problems occur, to help him out.

We were his ‘Houston Mission Control’, so to speak.

Many of us weren’t sure he would make it. After all, it is no mean feat walking from KL to Kota Baru. But make it he did! On Oct 3, 25 days later, he walked triumphantly into Kota Baru. A number of us were waiting at the Renaissance Hotel to greet him and then walk the ‘last mile’ to the Perdana Hotel with him as a show of support and solidarity.

As he reached the Renaissance Hotel, he was overcome with emotion and he had a quiet moment to himself before we all hugged and congratulated him before starting off again toward Perdana Hotel.

His effort is all the more remarkable when you realise why he did it. One of the reasons was to raise funds for a project to repair houses damaged by the Kelantan floods last year that he calls Projek Wumah. He had picked a village in Rantau Panjang for this. More importantly, he felt that by walking along the trunk roads, he had an opportunity to meet Malaysians from all walks of life and share with them the meaning of friendship.

Via social media he raised awareness of this project and contributions poured in not just from Malaysia but from all over the world.

Did he achieve what he set out to do? In terms of donations to his project, I think he was hoping for a bigger response. However, monetary figures aside, I think his walk was a huge success in terms of showing how we can all make a difference in some form or fashion.

It opened a lot of people’s eyes to how there are many in Malaysia who are still living in difficult conditions. They may not meet the ‘official poverty line definition’ but to all intents and purposes, these people are poor.

Most importantly, for David, it was a very personal and emotional journey that was dedicated to his late sister. It was something he wanted to do and in that respect he achieved what he set out to do. Quite frankly, in my books, what he did was simply awesome.

For me personally, there were many lessons to be learnt and a few moments that stood out.

Firstly it was the gathering of people to support this cause and the friendships that have been forged. Most of us that gathered at Kota Baru had only briefly met before or knew each other through social media. Yet, for the 40 odd people that had gathered, we became fast friends.

Transcending race and religion

We all came from different walks of life and from all over Malaysia. The camaraderie and fellowship was very obvious and this is the evidence that Malaysians really transcend race and religion - no matter what the politicians try to tell you.

Next, while waiting at the Renaissance Hotel in Kota Baru for David to arrive, the hotel doorman asked me why we were all wearing similar shirts and what we were doing there? I explained what David had done and how he was helping a village affected by the floods. This seemed to strike a chord with the doorman. He remarked that this was very noble and he wished the government and politicians would do something similar. Wise words indeed.

I could see he was quite moved and seeing a complete stranger reacting was quite moving, too.

On the trip back from KB, I decided to take Route 8 - the actual route that David walked on. Driving down that route required a lot of concentration as it was heavy with traffic. Some cars would overtake indiscriminately and some very close to the road shoulder. The route is narrow and stretches uphill and downhill. There are some sharp curves and at some points there is hardly any road shoulder at all.

However, driving down the route is one thing. Walking on that route however would be an entirely different thing. Seeing the route that David walked down first hand gave me a whole new appreciation for what he actually did. He had mentioned that the route was very scenic and indeed it is. It gives you a whole new perspective of how beautiful our country really is.

Along the way we stopped at chatted with a lady selling watermelons and coconuts along Route 8, just past Kuala Krai. She mentioned that she was affected by the floods as well and her home had been completely destroyed. An NGO had provided her with a wooden cabin that was now on higher ground. That in itself was a lesson in how privileged some of us really are.

There are many other lessons to be learnt but suffice to say the most important is that we all have the capability to help our fellow citizens. One man showed us this and to pardon the pun, he walked the talk. The young man from Alor Setar I met 31 years ago achieved what many of us would never even have considered doing!

As I did in Kelantan, I will do so again now albeit figuratively. David Wu, I stand and applaud your dedication and perserverance in completing that epic walk - The Walk of a Lifetime. More importantly I thank you for opening our eyes, hearts and minds to what can be accomplished and how we can all help our fellow man.

For anyone interested in Projek Wumah, details can be found at this Facebook page .

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