With special guest:
- Steven Monk-Dalton
Our guest today Steven Monk-Dalton has not seen his daughter for five years despite making every effort through the legal system to be reunited. Steven is a victim of International Parental Child Abduction with the relevant countries on this occasion being Spain and England. The frustration after being let down many times got Steven thinking about other options because as he tells us he will never give up trying to see his daughter .
Steven always said that he would walk through any borders if it meant seeing his daughter again so the idea formed of walking from Orihuela Court in Spain to the Royal Court of Justice in London England. This involves walking across France in a 44 day journey doing on average 42 kilometres a day which is the Olympic marathon distance.
The journey started on 23 August and we catch up with Steven on the road near Bordeaux France. The walk is generating publicity and support for the UK based charity Reunite International Child Abduction Centre while raising awareness generally for the issues surrounding parental child abduction with its impact on families and children.
International Parental Child Abduction is an extreme form of Parental Alienation that the institutions such as the Family Court still do not recognise.
Listen in today as our own Ken Thompson discusses the reality of taking on this challenge. Ken did something similar leaving Australia to ride a bicycle through Europe in search of his son.
If our listeners want to follow Steven on his voyage go to his Facebook page Walk Across Borders.
If you would like to donate to the UK based charity, who were also of great assistance to Ken Thompson, go to his Just Giving page.
Join us today on the frontline as we go to France to hear the personal story of an extremely testing challenge.
Steven Monk-Dalton
Steven Monk-Dalton is a senior Software Support Engineer living in Spain. He has not been able to see his daughter living in England for the last five years and with her now being 10 he has decided to take some direct action. Steven has taken on the challenge of walking great distances through three countries. He is on a mission to be reunited with his own child while raising awareness of the blight of parental abduction and alienation. This can only benefit many other parents and children.
Song selection by our guest: Brave by Shani Ormiston