A real walk-a-thon

-- Jennifer Kho

Norman Ball, a 58-year-old man who lives for half of the year in

Toronto, Canada, and the other half in Scottsdale, Ariz., will walk

through Costa Mesa today as part of his Walk of Hope goal to cover 8,250

miles.

Ball, who has already walked more than 400 miles and raised between

$20,000 and $30,000 in pledges and donations, said he is walking to bring

attention to orphaned children living in streets and sewers around the

world.

The money so far has been designated to help street children in

Romania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Brazil and India.

“As you and I speak, children are dying horrible deaths in places I

don’t even want to think about,” he said Friday. “Children are the

world’s legacy, and they are at risk everywhere. There is no greater

cause anywhere in the world. Losing a child is the most tragic thing that

can happen.”

Ball gave up all “normal life” for his Walk of Hope, including giving

away the business center he used to own.

“I’ve given up everything, and it’s not enough,” he said. “This is

worth more than anything I’ve done in my life. I was thinking about what

I would do when this is over, and I realized there is no ‘over.’ You

can’t just do this and then go back to work the next day. My wife,

Dianne, and I have committed the rest of our lives to this, plain and

simple.”

His goal is to raise at least $10 million, he said.