Mangaluru: Melvin Thomas, a native of Wayanad District in Kerala, set off on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on October 9, 2021, with the message ‘Donate Blood, Donate Life.’
He reached Jammu on the evening of February 3 after covering a herculean journey of over 3,800 kilometres. He was welcomed by blood donors and other organisations on a daily basis while walking 30 to 35 kilometres everyday for four months. Few even helped him arrange a stay at one of their homes.
Melvin’s return journey is made by bicycle, and he covers about 80 km per day with halts. He is scheduled to arrive in Bengaluru on Tuesday March 22 from Tumakuru. Melvin will be felicitated by LionsBloodLine of Lions Club of Bangalore in Sanjaynagar at Lions Bhavan on Wednesday March 23 at 4.00 pm. Other blood banks and those promoting blood donation will be present during the event.
Speaking to NewsKarnataka Alphonse Kurian said, “During Covid, Melvin heard about blood shortage at several places. He wanted to go for a long adventure walk and decided to do so promoting a social cause. We learned that he travelled from Mangaluru to Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and reached Jammu. He was not sure of his return journey after reaching there. Later, he decided to return by bicycle. He has now entered Karnataka.”
“Melvin is a pleasant person. When I spoke to him, I got to know that he had to go through few hardships when he started the journey. Meva Singh, who is the trip co-ordinator, has helped Melvin throughout the journey. He would help him in finding out contacts, connect with them, arrange accommodation and so on,” Kurian explained.
It is understood that following the event, he will head to Mandya on Thursday March 24 to complete his return journey.