An Isle of Wight couple who are on a walking pilgrimage to raise money for a national children’s charity received an anonymous £1,000 before they even set off.
Wootton based contract cleaners Paul and Linda Southwell will walk 1,248 miles in 90 days from Canterbury to Rome – plus take a boat from Dover to Calais. They set off last Friday (16th May 2025).
Supporting Mitochondrial disease research
It’s all part of a campaign to support the Lily Foundation, who help children with Mitochondrial disease, a rare complex genetic disorder.
The couple, who have three grown up children, decided to take up the challenge after being introduced to Teddy Ward, aged 3, who has the condition and lives nearby. Teddy’s dad Dan is a friend of their son.
Paul, 54, former manager of Wootton Youth Football Club, said,
“We received a thousand pounds completely out of the blue and anonymously.
“We don’t know who donated the cash, but whoever they are, a very big thank you.”
Paul: A year ago I couldn’t even walk from Wootton Bridge to Ryde
The Southwells, called Team Teddy, will be camping overnight despite many of Paul’s physical health problems.
He said,
“A year ago I couldn’t even walk from Wootton Bridge to Ryde.
“I had a knee problem and two lots of spine surgery. I recently had an operation on my shoulder.
“But we’ve been training each weekend by walking more than 15 miles at a time.”
In January 2024, Teddy was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease caused by a rare genetic defect. He is believed to be one of only of 55 children in the world with this condition. There is limited research and unfortunately no known cure.
The Lily Foundation
The Lily Foundation charity funds research to improve diagnosis, develop treatments and hopefully to ultimately find a cure. Chief executive of the Lily Foundation, Liz Curtis, MBE, founded the charity after her own daughter Lily died from the disease.
She described it as an,
“Incredibly rare and complex genetic disorder that affects humans in very different ways. It can affect any organ at any age, and often occurs in babies and young children.
“What’s worse, each and every victim of the disease will have different symptoms.”
Liz added,
“There is currently no cure, but we’re working hard to change that, and are the largest charitable funder of mitochondrial research in Europe.”
Her charity has raised more than £11 million for help, treatment and research.
Show your support
You can show your support by donating via Linda and Paul’s fundraising page. At time of publishing they had already raised £2,447 for the charity.
