How did Steven’s 100km Dodentocht keep Jasper’s memory alive?

The Dodentocht is not a relay or a staged charity stroll. It is a continuous 100-kilometre walking challenge beginning and ending in the gemeente of Bornem, in Antwerp province. The organiser, 100KM Dodentocht–Kadee vzw, says the 2026 route passed through communities including Buggenhout, Opwijk, Lebbeke, Baasrode, Sint-Amands, Puurs and Oppuurs before returning to Bornem.

Official information placed 13 checkpoints along the route, with supplies available to registered walkers. Participants who withdrew at a checkpoint could use a sweep vehicle back to Bornem, but were required to scan out. Red Cross posts were marked on the official route map. These details matter because a personal mission does not remove the physical risks of walking through the night, particularly during warm weather.

For future editions, participants should register through dodentocht.be, train progressively and read the organiser’s latest guidance on heat, equipment and checkpoint deadlines. The event traditionally takes place on the second Friday of August, but dates and arrangements should always be checked afresh. Bornem railway station is roughly a five-minute walk from the event centre, according to the organiser, while motorists are directed to signed parking areas near the N16 and shuttle services. The official site provides information in Dutch and English; French-speaking participants may need to switch to the English pages when a French version is unavailable.

Berrefonds supports parents, grandparents, siblings and wider family networks after pregnancy loss or the death of a child up to the age of 12. According to Trefpunt Zelfhulp, its services include peer contact and remembrance boxes, known in Dutch as Koesterkoffers. The organisation also operates Koesterhuizen where bereaved families can meet others with comparable experiences.

The City of Antwerp’s Huis van het Kind portal says families can approach Berrefonds for practical information, contact with other bereaved households and guidance for relatives or friends who want to help. Its website and much of its community programme are primarily Dutch-language. People who are more comfortable in French or another language should state that when contacting the organisation and ask what translated material or suitable local referral is available.

Berrefonds also works with local authorities. Its guidance for a stad or gemeente covers sensitive contact with bereaved parents, remembrance spaces at cemeteries and registers for children whose lives may not be fully reflected in ordinary administrative records. That municipal dimension gives Onghena’s walk significance beyond one fundraiser: it shows how remembrance can connect families, voluntary organisations and public spaces without turning grief into a spectacle.

Long-distance charity events offer something that an ordinary appeal often cannot: a visible action with a beginning, a demanding middle and a finish. For some participants, the exertion provides a language for grief that is otherwise difficult to express. Onghena’s walk did not claim to resolve Jasper’s family’s loss. It made continued remembrance visible and directed attention towards an organisation supporting other families.

There is nevertheless a responsibility to keep the child and family at the centre. Fundraisers involving a deceased child should use details and images only with the family’s agreement, explain where donations go and avoid implying that sporting endurance is a substitute for professional or peer support. Readers wishing to contribute should verify that a campaign links to Berrefonds’ recognised fundraising platform before entering payment information.

Onghena’s next reported challenge is the 107-kilometre Hagelandse 101 in early September, followed by preparation for a marathon in Roeselare. Whether those later efforts will also support a charity had not been settled in the pre-walk reporting. What is already confirmed is simpler: he reached Bornem’s finish after walking through the night, and Jasper’s name travelled the full 100 kilometres with him.