Tanya and Joe Rejek are walking 70-plus miles in 24 hours for the three babies they lost. Their appeal for TimeNorfolk and Tommy's has passed £900. How to give.
A Norfolk couple who have lost three babies are walking non-stop for 24 hours across the county to raise money for the two charities that helped them through it.
Tanya and Joe Rejek set off at 12 noon on Friday 9 October, the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week. They are due to finish at noon today, Saturday 10 October, and expect to have covered more than 70 miles.
Their team JustGiving page stood at £910 when we checked at 9.20am on Saturday, from 50 donations, plus £205 in Gift Aid. Both of their individual pages have already passed their £350 targets.
The money is split between two charities:
- TimeNorfolk, which supports people across Norfolk and Waveney with the mental health effects of pregnancy loss at any stage, baby loss or pregnancy choices
- Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, which funds research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth and gives information and support to families
“I have never felt more alone”
Tanya first went to TimeNorfolk in 2018, after losing her first baby, Isaac, at 19 weeks of pregnancy.
“I have never felt more alone, scared and confused about what was happening to my body and my dreams of being a parent,” she said. “TimeNorfolk provided support, reassurance and, most importantly, a listening ear. They gave me the space to talk and allowed me to work through the different stages of my grief.”
While she was still seeing the charity, Tanya found out she was pregnant with her daughter. After Isaac, the news brought fear as well as hope.
“I was so scared to tell anyone in case I lost another baby,” she said. “When I told TimeNorfolk about the pregnancy, they supported me so much. The charity is fundamental for grieving families, no matter what stage of grief they are in.”
Her own fundraising page, for TimeNorfolk, had raised £555 against a £350 target when we checked. On it she writes: “I will look to the stars during the walk and remember the strength I have because of my babies looking down on me.”
“A refuge of information and support”
Joe is walking for Tommy’s, which he turned to again and again after the couple’s miscarriages. Much of the physical side of each loss was Tanya’s, the couple say, and Joe was trying to cope with his own grief while supporting his wife.
“Tommy’s became a refuge of information and support for me when Tanya and I experienced miscarriages,” he said. “Their resources for dads and partners were something I repeatedly turned to during what would otherwise have been an even more mentally exhausting and scary period of my life.”
He added: “There can be so much uncertainty surrounding miscarriage and baby loss. Having somewhere I could go for factual information helped me better understand what was happening and how I could support Tanya while also trying to process my own feelings.”
On his fundraising page, which had raised £355 against £350, Joe writes that donations help pay for a free midwife-led helpline and form part of the £2 million he says Tommy’s puts into baby-loss research each year.
Why walk for 24 hours
The team page is dedicated “in memory of Isaac, Baby Rejeks, Oli and many more”. It opens with a question about how tired a walker would be after a day and a night on their feet, and answers it: “Not as tired as the sleepless nights after losing a baby. Not as achey as the arms of parents who cannot hug the babies they have lost.”
Tanya put it this way: “I cannot tell you how tough this walk will be. No sleep, constant walking and inevitable blisters, but the pain we endure during those 24 hours will never come close to the pain of losing a baby.”
The couple hope the walk gives other families a moment to remember their own babies, and gets more people talking about a loss that touches both parents and the wider family.
“Baby loss affects so many families, yet it can still be incredibly difficult to talk about,” they said. “We want this walk to honour the babies who are loved and remembered, including our own, while raising awareness of the impact that loss can have on families.”
The raffle
Alongside the sponsorship, the couple are running a raffle with prizes given by local businesses and organisations. According to their poster, every £10 donated buys an entry. Prizes include:
- a tea and leisure day at Sprowston Manor
- a cream tea and vintage car experience at the Maids Head Hotel
- tickets to the Cromer Pier Christmas Show
- tickets to Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens
- tickets to Thursford Steam Museum
What it means for you
- To give: donate on the team JustGiving page, or on Tanya’s page for TimeNorfolk or Joe’s page for Tommy’s.
- To enter the raffle: the poster asks donors to leave their name and email address when they give, with one entry for every £10.
- If you need support yourself: TimeNorfolk works with people across Norfolk and Waveney after pregnancy loss, baby loss or pregnancy choices, and Tommy’s publishes pregnancy and baby loss information, including for dads and partners.
Baby Loss Awareness Week runs every year as a time for families to remember their babies and raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss. The fundraising totals above were checked on the morning of Saturday 10 October and will keep moving.
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