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Footsteps For Food: Chimu Turns Its Focus To Supporting Latin America

Following the mess that COVID-19 has caused, Chimu Adventures has decided to turn its focus to assisting the people struggling with the lack of tourism in South America.

Following the mess that COVID-19 has caused, Chimu Adventures has decided to turn its focus to assisting the people struggling with the lack of tourism in South America.

In countries where government handouts are few and far between, earning a living for people, who normally make a living out of tourism, has been at all but at a standstill, making the very basics of living extremely arduous.

“We now need to band together to protect the entire infrastructure and the people within it to give us all cause for hope and the ability to recover quickly.”

Chad Carey, Co-Founder of Chimu Adventures.

So, instead of focusing on the bad that is coming out of the global pandemic, Chimu Adventures has turned its energy to making something better.

This is where ‘Footsteps for Food’ comes in. James’s will be walking 4,320km, to raise money for South American communities in need.

An inspiring idea

Chimu South America

The managers at Chimu did a shout out to their teams to see if anyone had any fundraising ideas. A very tough call in the harshest of environments, given the financial state of the entire planet.

James McAlloon, Chimu’s relationship manager for Queensland piped up quickly and suggested he walk across the entirety of Australia and try to raise tens of thousands for the hardest hit.

Given it costs approximately $40 to feed a family of four for a week, in many of the worst affected areas, this posed to be an incredible opportunity, albeit with risk.

“This journey has been on my radar for some time. That said, I didn’t intend to tackle it for a few years, or for charity to be honest. I just wanted to test myself. But people are suffering in our industry, worse than me and that kills me, it seemed fitting that I put myself in a more vulnerable position, in the honour of those who have lost so much more and try to raise funds to support them.”

“I know it sounds spontaneous, but I’ve already done a lot of the planning and acquired most of the gear. This simply acts as a catalyst to get it done and get it done for a cause. I’m already in shape,” said James McAlloon, Chimu’s Relationship Manager to Queensland.

Footsteps For Food

This wasn’t quite the idea Chimu envisioned would come forward from the call out, but given the culture of the Chimu team, it was no major surprise. Knowing James’ climbing history and his physical capability of succeeding in such a trek. It was a unanimous and rapid ‘let’s do it’.

“I couldn’t be prouder of James’ pledge and will support him 100% of the way, many of our team are already planning on joining him for some sections, it feels like a family project, albeit a massive one. We are now working on food supplies with our operations team to ensure we are ready to distribute.”

Greg Carter, Co-Founder of Chimu Adventures. 

“It’s hard to know the challenges that lay ahead, but I feel ready. I’ve trained hard and used experiences from past trips to prepare as best I can for any possibility. I’m sure there will be times when I want to give up, as I’ve never attempted anything on this scale. Whether it’s exhaustion or any other boundary I might come across, knowing why I’m doing this, and the effect it can have on other people, will motivate me to push through the dire times.” James McAlloon continued.

With current border closures, the route James McAlloon has on the radar may need a rework. A Queensland only route is plan B.

“I’ll walk around and around in my back yard if I have to, the aim here is to complete footsteps for food, that is my ultimate pledge.”

James McAlloon, Chimu’s Relationship Manager to Queensland.

If you’d like to donate to this amazing initiative, please do so via Chimu’s Charity, Mad Project.

For more information on the journey, click here.