By A Contributor. Updated 10:50 p.m., Monday, August 25, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Kingstown, St. Vincent — In an inspiring feat of endurance, Morani Porter, a serving soldier in the British Army, has completed a 91.19-kilometer charity walk from Fancy in the north of St. Vincent to Richmond on the Leeward coast.
The trek lasted an astonishing 24 hours and 4 minutes, during which Porter took 117,643 steps, burned over 14,000 calories, and pushed his body to its absolute limits.
“This was a challenging walk,” Porter reflected. “Every soldier goes out to battle, and some get wounded. I was wounded, but my goal was to get to Richmond, and nothing was going to stop me.”
The route from Fancy to Richmond tested every ounce of his strength and resilience, taking him through winding roads, steep hills, and relentless stretches of terrain under scorching sun and humid conditions.
Mr. Porter was transported up a hill on the Leeward side for a brief part of the trip due to a slight injury. The move was an injury response mechanism advised by medical personnel and first responders who were part of the team that journeyed with him.
Despite the pain and exhaustion, Porter stayed laser-focused on his mission: raising awareness and support for youth empowerment and development initiatives in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“You know, the main narrative for this walk was really to raise awareness. It wasn’t about completing the goal or, you know, walking the whole island to prove anything. It was mainly to raise awareness, you know,” Mr. Porter said.
His journey has captured the attention and admiration of the nation, with supporters describing the accomplishment as “inspirational” and “a true display of grit and determination.”
Still, the donation target of 5,000 pounds to help new army recruits during their transition period has not yet been met.
In a post walk statement sent to One News SVG, Mr. Porter said donations are still open through the JustGiving page and also donations can be made at the SVG Red Cross.
Interested persons who wish to donate online can click here to securely contribute.
Those who wish to donate in-person at the SVG Red Cross can visit the organization located behind the Ministry of Education compound on Halifax Street “and let them know” that you are making a donation to Walk For the Future, or anything like that, or the guy who’s raising funds for military recruits.
Mr. Porter says he plans to go live on Wednesday night or Thursday, “and that’s when we will check off the funds that we have already received, but even after that, donations are still accepted.”
He also said the planned mock assessment for persons considering joining the military will be held soon and that a form will be released for people to sign up for the mock assessment.
“For those who want to apply and be part of the mock assessment, the date is just yet to be set for the mock assessment, but they will be informed later on,” he said.
Reflections on the walk
While reflecting on his journey, Mr. Porter shared one disappointment.
“While I’m pleased with everything else, I’m a little bit disappointed in the sense where I was expecting those who have already signed up for the army, because I’m doing this for them, not for me, to at least come out and probably walk a 1k, a 2k, walk a 10 minutes, a 5 minutes, just to show that moral support, you know. Because at the end of the day, I’m doing this for them. They’re the ones that want to benefit. Even people who want to sign up for the army as well. I was expecting more of the youths to come out and join,” he said.
“If you look at the videos, those that were walking, it’s more seniors, you understand. They’re not interested in the army. Everyone that was walking there, none of them were interested in the army. You know what I’m saying? But they came out and they joined in and they showed their support and they walked for however long they could, even to the end. So their support was greatly, greatly appreciated,” he added.
He also expressed deep gratitude to those who walked with him or supported him along the way or in the process.
“I want to give a massive, massive thanks to you, yourself, One News. So shout out yourself for doing the coverage. Really, really appreciated that. Shout out to Ministry of Health, the SVG Police Force, even the Red Cross as well. They were above and beyond with their support. All three of them were above and beyond with their support throughout all of this.”
“And the supporters, whether they shared or whether they liked, you know, those that donated and are still donating, you know, a massive support to them, the walkers, just everyone in general, you know. I may have missed a few, but I’ll try my best to remember them as much as possible. And also big up to the negative ones. I want people to know that their negativity is part of what fuelled the drive as well, you know, for me to complete this, you know, and get it done successfully. So big up to them as well,” he added.
He said: “Now that it’s done, we know that it’s more than possible, you know. And I want people to know that your mindset is everything. That’s always been my narrative. Your mindset is everything. Determination, your drive, everything. You understand it’s mind over matter. Your body may say no, but if you believe it in your mind that you could go an extra few steps, you go an extra few steps”.
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