Sam’s 1,500 mile charity trek

Over the course of next week, Ingenuity Digital’s Business Development Director, Sam Ogrizovic will be retracing the 1,500-mile journey his late grandfather took when he fled Croatia as a teenager in WWII.

Sam and his cousin Chris Ogrizovic will set off from the family home in Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire and walk or hitchhike to Brlog, Croatia in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society, finishing their journey in the small village where their grandfather, Nick, began his escape.

Under the name Papa’s Journey, the pair are hoping to raise more than £5,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society.
As war broke out across Europe, Nick’s village came under siege from Nazi soldiers; Nick’s father was part of the local resistance which tried valiantly to keep the enemies at bay. In a fire fight, a Nazi soldier was killed and as a result soldiers entered the small Yugoslav town the following day and shot Nick’s father dead. At 14 years of age, Nick was forced to flee the area for his own safety and did so under gunfire. It took him five years to make his way to Nottinghamshire, having been captured and sent to a Prisoner of War camp in Italy.

“We are trying to replicate the journey as much as we can with no planning, no maps, no planes and only £20,” says Sam.
The pair have been given letters by the Alzheimer’s Society written in several different languages to explain to people they meet along the way what they are doing. They hope to achieve their goal in eight days.

Sadly, Nick never returned to Yugoslavia. The political instability throughout the 80s and 90s meant he lost contact with his mother and sisters. He never knew what happened to them. At his funeral last year, Sam and Chris decided they would make the commemorative journey.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.papasjourney.com or the Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/papasjourney