Quebec man on 11-yr walk around the world arrives in Vancouver

TORONTO - The Canadian man, who started off on his walk around the world to raise awareness about children facing violence and conflict, has arrived in Vancouver.

Jean Beliveau, 55, had been away from Canada for four years, slowly making his way through Ethiopia on foot, and covering more than 27,000 kilometres in three continents.

“This is natural, we have some time in our life we want to give up,” the Globe and Mail quoted Beliveau as saying as he arrived in Vancouver to begin the final Canadian leg of his journey.

“Mid-Africa, the culture shock accumulated, I said to (my wife), ‘I want to go home.’ She replied to me, ‘We love you, you’re welcome home, but you’ve made too much (progress), you need to go farther.’

“We had some hard times, but it was step-by-step, day-by-day,” he stated.

Beliveau left Montreal in August 2000 at the age of 45 to coincide with the United Nations’ “international decade for a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world”.

He has walked nearly 76,000 kilometres in six continents, most recently making his way through Australia and New Zealand.

He landed at Vancouver’s airport on January 30, where his wife, supporters and a live band, welcomed him.

He now plans to start the 5,400-kilometre trek to Montreal next month, and expects to arrive in Montreal in October. (ANI)