Like a lot of Airdrie residents will do today (March 4), Karly Brandt will take a walk in the snow.  

However, Brandt's walk from Canmore to Banff and back again will be designed to raise funds and bring awareness to a group of refugees half a world away.

Brandt will undertake the 44 kilometre "Walk For The Forgotten" as a personal journey to help the Rohingya people of Myanmar.  

More than 650,000 Rohingyas have fled for their lives from horrific violence in Myanmar and have walked into the neighbouring country of Bangladesh where they're living in over-crowded refugee camps.

The organization that Brandt works for, Samaritan's Purse, has set up a medical camp to combat a recent outbreak of diphtheria among the Rohingya refugees.  The outbreak has infected thousands and claimed more than two dozen lives.

Brandt says she was inspired to do something to help the refugees in a tangible way.  

"I heard about the Rohingya crisis through work and I really felt led to do something more about it than share an article or pray, even though that's a great way to help.  I wanted to do something physical as well.  I decided that a lot of them had to go on a really long journey to find safety.  For days and days, they had to walk in the jungle and I thought that I wanted to do a walk as a small representation of the walk they had to do to get to safety."

But don't think the walk that Brandt is going on is just a part of a larger effort by Samaritan's Purse.  Brandt came up with the idea all on her own.

"It's actually my own initiative, it's not being done as a group collective.  It's just something that I personally decided I wanted to do to make a difference."

Brandt is also hoping to show other young people how they can use their voice and their influence to make a difference in the world.  She says, "A lot of the time there's so much going on in the world that it's overwhelming, all the negative aspects of it.  I wanted it to be an example to show young people that we do have a voice and we are able to make a difference, however small that may be.  We can use our creative abilities to be able to help other people across the world."

Brandt will be walking on her own but jokes that she isn't worried because, as she puts it, "I'm pretty sure they have cell phone service there."

She initially set a goal of raising $500 in one month but had raised $700 in two days of fundraising.   "Currently I'm sitting at almost $1,300."

To sponsor Brandt on her walk and make a difference in the lives of the Rohingya people go here.  The fundraising page will be up for a week after Brandt completes her walk.  

Questions, comments or story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com