Josh von Pein broke the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck in an accident in Dunedin on July 17, 2006.
"I fell off a cliff trying to find my way back home to my parents' house in Doon St, Waverley, after a night out with the boys. I was found the next morning under a 30-foot [9.1m] cliff in our neighbour's backyard," he said from London.
"The first thing I clearly remember the next morning was the old man staring at me and my first thoughts were: `I'm either in jail or in hospital. This isn't good."
'He spent the next six months in Dunedin Hospital and the Burwood spinal unit in Christchurch.
"I was told at one stage that I would only ever be able to walk to the back of my car to get my wheelchair out of the boot," he said.
The 26-year-old civil engineer hopes his trek will raise $20,000 towards building a school at Kapiti, in Kenya, 50km south of Nairobi International Airport.
"I start walking on the 17th of July, which is the fourth anniversary of snapping my neck.
I hope to cover the 930km in around six or seven weeks," he said.
"I just wanted to prove to me that I can do it. I think this project will change people's lives, forever and for the better."
Mr von Pein attended St Francis Xavier School and Kavanagh College, before leaving Dunedin two years ago with his wife, Jo, "to get some overseas work experience and to have a wee look around".
They plan to return to live in Dunedin next year.
Mr von Pein was inspired to undertake the journey after reading about a Kenyan youth, Peter Gitau, whose education was funded by the Khandallah Ngaio Church in Wellington.
Mr Gitau emigrated to Wellington in 2007 with his New Zealand-born wife, Angela Wilton.
The couple now have a 10-month-old daughter, Imara, and are co-ordinating the Kapiti School project.
"All the other children that lived in the slum area where I was born died before they turned 18 years old.
Most died as a result of diseases, while others were caught up in crime or starvation," Mr Gitau told the Otago Daily Times.
"Access to a good education can mean the difference between life and death. Lack of a good education means many children start life without the necessary survival skills. The majority die at a very young age.
"I am very grateful to Josh for his support. It is amazing that he is doing what he is doing."
Mr von Pein has set up a website for donations at www.everydayhero.co.nz/jvp
