For the past few days, the Internet has been flooded with the story of a young man who embarked on a crazy adventure, that to reach Algiers, the capital of Algeria, on foot from Paris.
Indeed, Mehdi Debbraah, a young Parisian of Algerian origin and aged 26, has launched a challenge to travel Europe and Africa on foot to reach Algeria in homage to his father and to visit (surprise) his grandfather.
Where it all started for Mehdi!
We tend to say that: « There is a beginning to everything », and it is very true. For Mehdi, known under the pseudonym « Debbraah », the idea of walk 4000 km to go to Algeria came to mind after his trip from Paris to Copenhagen. Indeed, this is not the first time that Mehdi has gone on such an adventure, since he has already traveled through Paris – Marseille, Paris – Venice, Paris – San Sebastian, Paris – Copenhagen, on foot.
As he explained on the website of the Non-Governmental Organization « NGO Life », he decided to walk to Algeria after its Paris – Copenhagen hike in 2021. To finance his project, he worked in a company where he was able to really fit in. However, an event turned his life upside down which led him to question himself.
Indeed, the death of his father motivated him to do what he loves: “Walking, discovering others and myself”. And as he was also able to explain, he made the decision to quit his job to go walk for the person who saw him take his very first steps.
As a result, on February 22, 2022, Mehdi announced on his Twitter account that his trip to Algeria will begin on May 5. And indeed, since May 5, 2022, he has traveled several hundred kilometers to keep his promise and to fulfill his challenge.
Reach Algeria via Switzerland, Italy and Tunisia
Mehdi said on TikTok on May 05, 2022 that, to get to Algiers, he will pass through Switzerland, then through Italy. And once arrived in Sicily / Italy, he will take the boat to go to Tunis, and then he will continue on foot along the North of the Maghreb, to finally arrive in front of the door of his grandfather’s house. Indeed, the adventure of Mehdi will stop there. His grandfather knowing nothing of his grandson’s journeytheir meeting promises to be moving and memorable.
Among other things, Mehdi Debbraah records and films his adventure to make it a documentary series, which will be released on his YouTube channel as soon as he returns to France. But for now, people are following his progress on social media.
A walk for a good cause
Mehdi, through social networks, such as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, takes his subscribers on board in his adventure. However, his walk is not the only way he has decided to pay homage to his fatherbut since the beginning of his journey, Mehdi has opened a kitty intended to finance the construction of a water tower.
The donations collected during his last trip (Paris – Copenhagen), for example, enabled him to build a well in Cambodia. For information, the kitty that Mehdi has launched since his departure has collected more than €10,320 out of €10,000 in just 12 days.
Where is it now?
On May 25, Mehdi Debbraah announced on his Instagram account, his arrival in Switzerland. So that means he went from one country to another and traveled more than 450 km in just 20 days. However, its road is still long to reach Algeria, and there are still great adventures to follow both for him and for uswho follow him.
@debbraahworld Every day I go a long way, I don’t make much progress because I meet very nice people along the way. In any case today department challenge! #Paris #algiers #walking #hiking ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz