Local man walks 220 miles to help women in the Congo

His sneakers say “keep going” across the top. Paul Clay-Rooks saw the message every time he looked down, while walking 220 miles in 8 days, from Lynchburg to Washington D.C.

“I was hobbling.  It wasn’t much of a walk.  It wasn’t a walk for joy, it was a hobble for joy,“ said Clay-Rooks.

Complete strangers encouraged him along the way.

“You’re almost there, you’re almost there,“ people yelled out car windows as they passed him on the road.
Clay-Rooks works at Randolph College, until this year was a woman’s college, as the first male Resident Director. He spent spring break helping women in the Congo who are victims of sexual assault.

“These women are walking to get firewood and they’re getting abducted.  Firewood, firewood - these are like a hundred feet away and that hundred feet changes their lives,“ he said.

So Clay-Rooks walked, and his message travelled.  Letters and cards are pouring in from around the country, many with checks included.  A week after coming home to Lynchburg, his feet are still aching, but he says nothing compares to the moment he stepped into Washington D-C.

“When I saw that Arlington Memorial Bridge, when I saw that bridge, I was so excited,“ Clay-Rooks said, laughing.  “I didn’t think it was going to be emotional, it was a little emotional, but it was so exciting to kind of look back.“
At a 200 mile journey to help strangers.

“If you believe in something do it,“ he said.

Photos by Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress