Garry Sullivan is walking 400 kilometres barefoot to raise money to build a school in rural Sri Lanka.
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Over November expect to see him walking along beaches from Batemans Bay to Bermagui wearing his School in the Hills T-shirt.
Mr Sullivan worked in Sri Lanka for a year after the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 devastated the country.
He was volunteering through Project Galle, planting coconut trees to revegetate the coastline.
They also built greenhouses at schools because the tsunami destroyed all the vegetable gardens.
"We built greenhouses and taught the kids how to grow vegetables,' Mr Sullivan said.
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Couple teaching 50 children in their living room
While he was there he met a couple who have devoted their lives to their fellow Sri Lankans.
The couple set up a Christian mission in a rural area.
For the last 10 years they have been teaching primary school-aged children from under-privileged families in their living room.
"Their families don't have the resources or finances to get their children to larger towns to get an education," Mr Sullivan said.
They currently teach 50 children, giving them a basic understanding of English, Maths and education they would not otherwise get.
The situation is not ideal because the children are from a diverse range of backgrounds yet are being taught in a home.
That is why Mr Sullivan bought a plot of land next to the mission five years ago with the aim of building a school.
"The idea is to give them a safe, warm and welcoming place to learn," Mr Sullivan said.
No social welfare safety net
The mission is in the region of Nuwara Eliya and surrounded by tea plantations that are owned by very wealthy foreigners.
The tea plantations are a major employer of rural families living nearby.
"They are poorly paid and don't get access to clothing or housing.
"This has been going on for five generations so they don't know any better.
"If you don't earn money, you don't eat and you don't survive because there is no welfare system like we have over there, particularly in the rural areas," Mr Sullivan said.
Mr Sullivan needs to raise $30,000 to build the school.
He is doing the fundraising himself so that no money is "wasted" on marketing and administration.
Mr Sullivan paid for the T-shirt and brochures out of his own pocket.
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