Joelle Lang-Fredman
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Terence Lester has swollen ankles and bruised knees. And it only makes sense- he’s been walking for 57 days.
Lester, co-founder of Atlanta-based nonprofit Love Beyond Walls, began walking on August 20 from Atlanta, Georgia, to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about homelessness called the ‘March on Poverty.’ Lester’s walk mirrors Martin Luther King Jr.’s equal rights walk, the ‘March on Washington.’
Lester arrives in D.C. Saturday morning to hold a press conference in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
“I just want to make a statement that we need to focus our attention on helping those who are oftentimes forgotten,” Lester said. “Our county can do a better job at creating solutions to eradicate poverty.”
Lester said that walking sends the message that anyone can help fight the war on poverty because walking is something anyone can do.
“I don’t have any fancy title or position,” Lester said. “I’m just an everyday person that has a passion about doing something, and walking is symbolic for something that is ordinary.”
But the 648 mile walk wasn’t always so easy.
“When I first started, I was walking in 98, 97 degree weather,” Lester said. “I’ve walked in 3 or 4 hours of rain- sometimes it would rain all day. I’m still out there walking.”
Lester met with many homeless men and women on his journey and documented some of their stories for a film his nonprofit is producing, and was joined by over 160 supporters in various states for portions of the march.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Love Beyond Walls/Facebook)
