It first took place in 2009 in Dublin, when over 400 people came together at 4 o’clock in the morning to walk side by side towards the rising sun. The symbolic walk allows people who have been bereaved by suicide to pay homage to their loved ones, and shows those who are struggling that they are not alone and that even in the darkest of moments there flickers a ray of hope.
This annual walk of hope has grown into a global movement, with more than 200,000 people taking part in 203 venues across 21 countries and 5 continents in 2019. The walk took place for the first time in Luxembourg on 11 May 2019, when around 450 people donned a yellow t-shirt and braved the torrential rain to walk together, at 5 o’clock in the morning, because they believed that the walk — and its message – matter. Not only did we raise over EUR 33,000 to help three charities in their work of preventing suicide and providing vital support, but together, as we walked in a sea of yellow through the picturesque streets of beautiful Luxembourg, we experienced the power of hope and demonstrated the strength of community.
For obvious reasons, the walk as we know it couldn’t take place in 2020, but the original date planned was nevertheless marked by many individuals in Luxembourg and around the world who wanted to open up the conversation on mental health issues and suicide prevention and give those struggling hope for the future.
Darkness into Light 2021 will again be different. We will not be able to gather and walk as a group, but we are in this together and we can walk (or run, cycle, swim or just wake up early to watch the sun rise).
Please join us on Saturday 8 May 2021 by walking with your family, your friends, your neighbours, your dog, at any time of the day or night and in accordance with the Ministry of Health recommendations in place at that time. Let us walk, if not together then at least in solidarity, remembering those who have lost their lives to suicide and in support of those who are struggling. Our hope is to mark the day symbolically by encouraging as many people as possible to walk towards the hope of a brighter tomorrow.
By taking part you will be supporting the invaluable work of D’Ligue, SOS Detresse and Kanner-Jugendtelefon.
This year we will walk with the continued support of the Irish Embassy in Luxembourg.
Will you walk with us?
Date: Saturday 8 May 2021
