Historic Expedition Complete and Governor’s Wife rallies islanders to donate over $40,000 to Local Charities

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

 How does one keep moving forward in the marathon of a lifetime?

With hot chocolate, bad jokes, a splash of rum and the cheers of Turks and Caicos islanders behind you.  That’s according to the Governor’s wife Amanda Dakin at least.

Over a week ago Mandy Dakin, her son Fraser and John Galleymore waved goodbye to Providenciales to take on what can only be described as a mentally and physically grueling experience. Now after 200 miles, 12 days and a whole lot of perseverance the Footsteps4Good Charity event has come to a resounding finish and the $40,000 they raked in for non-profit organisations was no small feat either.

The event, the brainchild of Jill Beckingham, a previous governor’s wife and John Galleymore, was brought to fruition by Amanda Dakin, OneTCI and the Provo Roadrunners. It saw the three participants circumnavigating the entirety of the TCI while islanders joined in for walking, running and cycling along a route designated by OneTCI on specific days over the 12 day period.

The Dakins and Galleymore landed back in Providenciales Thursday, plowing through a stubborn current and brisk winds to park their kayaks on Sapodilla Beach; the younger Dakin abandoned his craft for a final swim to shore.  The trio shared with waiting family, friends and members of the media, their experiences, which did include a baby shark sighting.

Their preparation for the journey stretches back months and included running and endurance training, Galleymore says.

“We spent the last two or three months in Blue Hill hiking, [with packs]”

Mandy Dakin, a browned by the sun and bruised by sandy and rocky shorelines explained why the project was so important.

“It’s good to be put out of your comfort zone and succeed. I think everyone should experience that.”

Mrs. Dakin, who is an island girl herself being from Barbados, also maintained that it was very important to her that the community be part of the ambitious expedition. There were 30 charities set to benefit from the event and they did.

On Thursday December 16, Dakin said “We have raised quite a good set of money so far and it’s not over yet we’re hoping to get in quite a lot more so look out for that figure on social media.”

Later she  revealed to Magnetic Media that the exact figure was $40,760 dollars.

Galleymore said it was important to him that people knew that other islands outside of Providenciales exist, and to get them exploring the rest of the Turks and Caicos.

The elder Dakin explained that islanders cheered them on over WhatsApp when they had coverage and said there was also a massive amount of support from everyone they met.

Workspace with merry christmas decorations composition flatlay

“Every community that we came across, even if it was a fisherman or somebody just out on the road, they were like ‘Yeah come on keep going!’ It was really nice. ”

Galleymore agreed adding, “Everytime we got down after a leg, the next morning we would wake up and the community was there for us. It just kinda made us realize why we were doing it.”

Dakin also described some of the wonders that they came across, the night sky on East Caicos, the schools of dolphins that swam alongside them and the flock of flamingoes that greeted them in Sapodilla Bay when they entered their final leg of the journey.

Despite their joy, they acknowledged the journey was a very difficult one.

“It was way more than I expected, I thought the walking was going to be a breeze. It was not a breeze.” Fraser laughingly admitted.

Galleymore agreed and explained the difficulty of the undertaking, he said, “Some people train their whole lives to run one marathon. You know that’s 26 miles, we were doing that every day for ten days. It comes down to sheer willpower and how much you want to succeed.”

After, when asked if the journey was worth it the three immediately answered “Of Course!”

They say they are already looking forward to trying again next year and that their biggest take away from the journey was that there was ‘no limit’ to what you can do.