Two South Sudanese men are making their way to Caithness after walking the length of the British mainland to raise money to build a school in a refugee camp.

Refugee rights advocate Giel Malual and his childhood friend John Kwai are in the final week of their 730-mile “Long Walk to Freedom for Sudan” and are on course to reach the finish line at Duncansby next Wednesday. 

The pair have kept going through severe weather and insist that “no amount of blisters will stop us”.

Their online fundraising campaign to help children who have been displaced from Sudan is nearing its £70,000 target, with more than £68,000 donated through their GoFundMe page.

Giel and John embarked on their journey from Dungeness beach in Kent on December 19, a thousand days after the violence in Sudan escalated. 

They are scheduled to complete their trek at Duncansby Head lighthouse on January 21.

After leaving Inverness on Thursday they are due to reach Tain on Saturday, Brora on Sunday, Dunbeath on Monday and Freswick on Tuesday.

The walk aims to shine a light on what Giel and John call “a forgotten crisis” as well as raising funds to support displaced Sudanese youngsters.

Since the conflict intensified, hundreds of thousands of families have fled to neighbouring countries, leaving many children without access to basic education.

Giel, who was forced to flee South Sudan as a child, is a student, model and experienced speaker with Asylum Speakers – an organisation that brings people with lived experience of displacement into the public eye.

“Sudan is not in our news but it is in our hearts,” Giel said. “We walk through winter because this time of year marks the anniversary of the death of my father in the brutal civil war in our country.

“We walk because we refuse to let this crisis disappear into the background. No amount of blisters will stop us – this is about solidarity and hope for a generation that deserves a chance to learn.”

All the money raised will be used to build a primary school in a refugee camp in Chad. The project will focus on “creating a safe, inclusive learning environment that enables children to regain a sense of dignity and hope for the future”.

Supporting the walk behind the scenes are Gulwali Passarlay, best-selling author of The Lightless Sky and former unaccompanied child refugee from Afghanistan, and Jaz O’Hara, founder of Asylum Speakers.   By Alan Hendry , Northern Times