Australian couple Upali i Nina DeSilva guanya el camí Camí Francès, de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port al Santiago de Compostel·la, a l'arrel awareness de miscarriage i suport familiars afectats per pregnancy elss.
Per many pilgrims, el Camí de Sant Jaume és la jornada d'endurance, reflection and personal transformation.
For Upali and Nina DeSilva, an Australian couple from Frankston, it is also a way to give visibility to a grief that is often lived in silence.
The couple set out from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on 27 August and plan to reach Santiago de Compostel·la on 16 October, after walking more than 800 quilòmetres over 51 days.
Their purpose goes far beyond completing the Camí Francès.
They using every stage of the pilgrimage to raise awareness of miscarriage and collect funds for Miscarriage Information Support Service, anomenat MISS, an Australian organization que provides information, resources, education and support to people affected by pregnancy loss.
Walking for families who often grieve in silence
Nina explained la miscarriage affects many families but is still something people often go through quietly.
Aquesta silence és una de les reaccions que el decideix a l'enllaç d'aquest camí a causa.
Aquests guanyen les seves aventures per tal de fer ànims de temor openly sobre pregnancy elss i l'emotional impact it can have on parents and families.
For them, the Camino felt particularly appropriate.
Its long days, physical effort and reflective character gave the journey a meaning que connected naturally with remembrance, resilience and support.
More than 800 quilòmetres across Spain
Upali i Nina són both in their seventies.
Els seus itineraris tenen el clàssic Camí Francès de les fronteres de les Pyrenees per a Sant Jaume.
By the time their story was published in Austràlia, they had already completed more than 500 kilometres.
El route has taken them through the Pyrenean foothills, mals towns and cities across northern Spain.
The physical challenge has been real.
They have spoken openly about exhaustion, aching legs and feet, and those moments when they question whether continuing makes sense.
Però els descriu també els usuaris que es mouen i causen durant les jornades com a realitat les keep moving forward.
A cause with a very personal connection
La charity té com a supporting, MISS, founded by their neighbour Melissa King.
L'organització provides assistance to people affected by miscarriage through information, awareness, education and support programs.
Aquest personal connection helped make the decision clearer when the couple began thinking about which cause they wanted to support during their Camino.
The goal is not only to raise money.
It is also to make miscarriage more visible and encourage families to feel less isolated when they experience pregnancy loss.
Every kilometre has a meaning
Upali has descriu each quilometres a reminder of the families they hope to support.
That gives a very different meaning to the numbers usually associated with the Camí.
Eight hundred quilòmetres.
Fifty-one days.
Hundreds of towns, climbs and descents.
In this case, the distance is not just a sporting challenge.
Each stage becomes part of a message.
The couple are turning a long-distance pilgrimage into a travelling campaign for awareness.
The Camino as a place for difficult conversations
The Camino de Santiago has always been a space where people talk.
Pilgrims share meals, stories, lletres i memories with people they may have met only hours earlier.
Aquesta atmosfèrica can make it easier to speak about subjects that are often difficult in everyday life.
Grief is one of them.
Pregnancy loss is another.
Per enllaçar les pilgrimages amb la miscarriage awareness, Upali i la Nina bringing la conversació a un dels mosts humans environments possible.
Per al full de strangers que, per a days or weeks, often become companions.
Their arrival will menja just after a day of remembrance
The couple expect to arriba a Santiago on 16 October.
That date carries additional meaning.
Their planned arrival comes one day after International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, observed on 15 October.
MISS is also organising a reembrance service in Austràlia on that day.
The event will inclou the opening of the Lullaby Fountain, dedicats al people affected by infant, baby or pregnancy loss.
While that service takes place thousands of kilometres away, Upali and Nina will be completing the final part of their Camino.
A human story beyond the statistics
The Camino is often descriu through numbers.
How many pilgrims arriba.
Which route grew the most.
Which country sent the most walkers.
Però stories like this remind us that behind every credential there is a reason.
Some walk for faith.
Some for adventure.
Som after a difficult moment.
Others to remember someone.
Upali i la Nina són walking for families they may never meet.
This what gives their journey its strength.
The finish line és not only Santiago
Perquè finalment arribi a Santiago de Compostel·la, també s'ha completat un dels europeus d'un gran pilgrimage routes.
Però les reals objectives no estan en el Cathedral.
L'awareness generat pels seus ànims, les converses s'hauran dut a terme i el suport raised per famílies afectades per la miscarriage a l'hora de dur a terme pilgrimage a fer mitjançant el final quilòmetre.
The Camino can be a personal journey.
But sometimes it becomes something larger.
Per Upali i Nina DeSilva, every step towards Santiago és també a step towards making grief a little less invisible.
