Charity walk to Borehamwood to be held in memory of 5-year-old

The family of a five year-old girl who died from complications arising from a heart defect is holding a charity walk to raise money for cardiac research.

The eight-hour event will be held in London on September 8 in memory of Shani Berman, who died from a heart condition in 2017.

All proceeds will go to the Shine for Shani charity, which has raised over £50,000  over two years for research into children’s heart transplants at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

”We’re trying to raise £70,000 towards this vital research,” Shani’s mum Juliet Berman said. “This walk will hopefully get us to the target but it’s going to take a lot of work from all of our participants to get there.”

Walkers facing the longest 20-mile route will set off from Great Ormond Street, through London and Hertfordshire, before ending with a celebration at the finish line in Borehamwood.

Participants will also have the option of walking the 13-mile distance from Hampstead Heath or the 5 3/4 mile distance, a reference to the age Shani was when she died.

“We are looking forward to it. It has been a huge amount of work, probably a bigger amount of work that we imagined, putting everything from the beginning,” Berman told JN.

“We’ve made it into a fun day out,” she said, “It’s a bit off road and it’s beautiful countryside. There’s a lot of camaraderie.”

“It’s a challenge as well, especially for the people that are doing 20 miles, a whole day of walking. There should be a good sense of achievement when they’ve done it,” she added.

To support Shine for Shani, you can register for the walk online or donate on JustGiving.