The Road to Change, 10,000 mile walk to every EU capital to End Childhood Sexual Abuse, began on May 31st 2013, when I left London on foot, and ended on February 7th 2015, when over a thousand supporters from across Europe and the world, walked my final steps with me, down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
I wish to express my continuing gratitude for all who made this inspirational project possible. Most of all, the input, help, efforts and advice from Dr Pamela Pine, Founder and CEO of Stop the Silence; Stop Child Sexual Abuse, Inc, Sandra Brown OBE, Founder of The Moira Anderson Foundation, Dr Ariel King, Founder of Ariel Foundation International and Homayra Sellier Founder and CEO of Innocence in Danger. created this project initially thanks to an international partnership between STS and MAF. It got underway thanks to further collaboration between all four of these incredible organisations, and later included the ‘Raphael International Foundation’. I remain eternally grateful to each of these exceptional organisations and the tireless efforts of all their wonderful staff.
Walking those 10,000miles, and the entire success of this project, would also never have been possible without the colossal contributions of three individuals – The Road to Change Team – Amanda Stuart Thompson, Linus Stig Akerlind and Maurice P Smith. These three superstars of the project each contributed in ways so huge it truly is immeasurable, and I can never thank each of them enough.
There were also countless other kind souls we met along the way, and thousands of supporters online, without which the Road to Change project would not have been anything like as successful as it turned out to be. As I said during every acceptance speech for the many awards I received thanks to the Road to Change, “I did not do this, we did this!’
This website remains live as a public record of this inspirational project, and the exceptional impact it had.
Matty
Dr Matthew McVarish