Dales’ Rotarian, Bob Hughes, walked about 70 miles of the Coast to Coast route last week and raised almost £1,000 for a charity which seeks to help blind and visually impaired children in the Gambia.

Bob Hughes on His Walk

Mr Hughes from Healaugh in Swaledale, has joined two fellow members of the Rotary Club of Wensleydale, David Milner and David Pointon, in supporting the British registered charity, the Friends of Govi. He explained:

“This charity helps blind children to become independent and not just finish up as beggars on the streets,” And, after walking about 70 miles in four days, he added: “I found out that long distance walking has more to do with mental attitude than it has to do with your legs!”

In January he and his wife, Janet, and David and Linda Milner, are taking part in a long distance drive to the Gambia to deliver equipment to the only school for the blind there, run by the Gambian Organisation of the Visually Impaired. The team will include Mr Pointon and Wensleydale ambulance technician Ken Nicholas who were members of the Dales’ team which drove two minibuses to the school in late 2006.

This time Mr Pointon, who is a trustee of the charity, hopes not only to assist the school and make sure that the feeding programme there is sufficiently funded, but also to set up a system to train and support teachers in rural schools with assessing and teaching visually impaired and blind children.

On Easter Monday Mr Hughes and other team members had a charity stall at the car boot sale at Wensley and raised a further £124.

Team at the Wensley car boot sale, Ken Nicholas, David Milner, David Pointon, and Janet and Bob Hughes

The Friends also want to thank those Wensleydale groups which in March gave gifts to the charity following talks by David Pointon and Pip Land. These were the Methodist Bright Hour in Hawes; Gayle Methodist Fellowship; and the Upper Wensleydale Ladies’ Luncheon Club. We were also grateful to Leyburn Band for presenting a great charity concert at Aysgarth church on Saturday, June 27.