Who is John Abbey?

Answer 1

John Abbey was born in London in 1961 and was the man who organized and led the Walk of Life, an expedition from London to Khartoum 1985-1986. (see wikipedia: The Walk of Life). He received support from the Royal Geographical Society in London and Capital Radio who helped him recruit team members. He and his team were the first people to walk from London to the Sudan Border and they did it in 5 months, averaging 25 miles a day. The Walk of Life's aim was to raise money for famine relief in the Horn of Africa and to prove a point, if the team could walk to Africa to provide aid how much more could governments do in a matter of days.

Bob Geldof sent John a note before departure hoping he had a "comfy pair of shoes" and Bob Geldof's book "Is that it?" proved very useful during stomach upsets in the desert! Schools across the UK, Europe and in Egypt were involved in fundraising. Major sponsors included British Airways, DHL, Hitachi and Novetel Hotel group. On his return John focussed his attention on gaining a degree. He studied at Birkbeck London University, first Economics and Politics then a Masters at Kent in International Relations. Local interest: He spearheaded the campaign to save Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton from closure in the mid 90s and was successful in preventing the closure along with massive support from the public, MPs and media.

Today John runs a successful international management consultancy, Abbey Solutions specializing in non profit and government assignments. He is also supporting some of the richest people in the world develop philanthropic strategies. John is an accomplished photographer, a profession he pursued in his 20s.