News

"SCHOOLS 4 ALL IN AFRICA"

Thursday 25 March 2010

On 23 February Andrew Fairbairn, a real estate consultant and member of the Rotary Club of Banbury, gave a talk on his sponsored challenge from the Isles of Scilly to Shetland.

Andrew and his colleagues from Rotary of Great Britain & Ireland are supporting Leonard Cheshire Disability in a project called "Schools 4 All in Africa". This involves the physical adaptation of 20 existing schools in Uganda to ensure that disabled children get the benefit from a formal education.

Amazingly, under his own power Andrew used a kayak, cycled and walked from the south west of the Isles of Scilly to the north of the Shetland Islands. His challenge was devised to raise awareness about the “Schools 4 All in Africa” project and to raise funds for the scheme.

The event took place during May and June 2009 and although only Andrew completed the whole journey, many other Rotarians joined him during the various stages of the route, including Psychology Senior Lecturer, Philip Fine. Banbury Rotarians provided back-up support, driving many miles in the support van.

To complete the 1,180 miles trip took Andrew two years of planning and a year of training. Travelling for 27 days he finally arrived at the top of the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga in Shetland.

Every penny donated during the evening and throughout the challenge will be forwarded to the Leonard Cheshire Disability project.

If you would like to contribute to this very worthwhile cause, please email Andrew directly andrew@whitecommercial.co.uk for details of where to send a cheque. I'm sure he would be very pleased to hear from you.

Report by Nigel Adams and the Web Team