How Hitchhiking is Helping Street Children in Uganda

Quitting your good job at Cambridge University to go hitchhiking to Uganda is foolish, right? Why give up such security, status and comfortable living? For Pawel Huk the answer was street children. His heart was moved by the reality that there are over 10,000 children who have to survive on their own in Uganda. So, he quit his job and decided to hitchhike to Uganda while raising money and awareness about the social issue throughout the journey. The support he raised was donated to the UK based organization Street Child Africa.

“Having shaken off the western 9-5 lifestyle, and therefore shaken off western individualism and consumerism I have come to see the world in a brighter light. On this journey my heart has led me on a mission to raise money for the Street Kids in Uganda. A child on the street in Uganda is typically poor and uneducated, laboring the days away just to survive. But there is a remedy to this problem. I was traveling with the sole purpose of raising money for children to afford an education, better living standards and to stop the cycle of poverty.”

From October 2011 to March 2012, Pawel hitchhiked successfully from Cambridge through Western and Eastern Europe, Egypt, Sudan and south onto Uganda. Surprising to some, he was not kidnapped or killed, but rather made new friends and acquaintances and shared his passion with those willing to listen. Traveling in automobiles, sailboats and other unique forms of transportation, Pawel utilized the couchsurfing network to make friends along the way, while minimizing his accommodation expenses. Although this hitchhiking journey is completed, Pawel will continue to hitch and travel the world, keeping a holistic perspective on the common needs of children and people in economically challenged areas.

“This journey was not always easy, but raising funds for these children is something I needed deep in my heart. Simply to give them a chance to have a normal life as children in western countries have. I believe that even the smallest efforts and help from everyone will amount to great changes in these children’s lives. In a world where people have begun to lose hope in each other, we need this as much as the children, to show that great things can be done when we trust each other. “

To learn more about Pawel as a person and support his causes, go to his website here.

Looking to connect? You’ll find his couchsurfing profile here.