UPDATE - Issue 25 - Spring 2006
Hikers for Hope Do the Business!
We made it! One hundred and eight trekkers undertaking the Hike for Hope managed to cross the Jordan desert successfully and raise more than £500,000. The beneficiaries were jointly the Prostate Research Campaign UK and WellBeing of Women (WoW). lthough we all got across safe and sound the going wasn't easy, five cold nights in Bedouin tents in the desert and unrelenting sun, sand and rocks during the day.
There are a number of tales of individual heroism that ought to be told. Elizabeth (alias Lip), one of several vertigo sufferers, was in tears continually as she climbed the steep mountainside out of the rift valley and on towards Petra. Andrew Etherington suffered a small stroke a few weeks before the departure yet managed the trek with aplomb and helped 72 year old Phillipa and several other older walkers to cross the desert and scale the imposing mountain range that stood before the ancient Red Rose City of Petra.
Shan Ball, wife of Andrew who raised more than £70,000 sponsorship to climb Mount Kinabalu, had her gall bladder removed only two weeks before we left. In spite of this she trekked all the way to Petra without a murmur of complaint.
Michael Kleovoulou, one of the younger hikers, raised his £2,500 by dyeing his hair pink.
The trek itself was awe inspiring, following the ancient caravan routes between the spectacular rock formations of the Rift Valley. The Hikers for Hope wound their way slowly across the landscape, trail blazers like Felicity Hoare at the front, slower walkers bringing up the rear. The route into Petra itself took us through an amazing gulley to the city built by the Nabateans 2000 years ago, but only rediscovered in 1812. The valley is enclosed by sandstone cliffs veined with shades of red, purple and pink from which the city's monuments and temples are hewn. This is the location where tradition has it that Moses struck a rock and water gushed out. Ancient aqueducts confirm the Nabateans skill in hydrodynamics, which resulted in their economic success.
On the final day tired but happy walkers congregated for a celebration dinner. Congratulations were in order and a resolution was made to dedicate a proportion of the amazing £500,000 plus raised to the support, not only of the many sufferers of prostatic and gynaecological cancers, but also of their families and friends. How can the partner of a newly diagnosed cancer patient help the sufferer cope with the disease and its implications without the correct information? The Prostate Research Campaign UK and WoW are both focussed on helping individuals and their families deal with the trauma associated with the diagnosis of pelvic cancer. On this trek they have demonstrated how, by working closely together, they can make a real difference.
How about joining us on Hike for Hope 2 in Kenya in November 2007? Details of this and the next trek as well as the final sum raised will be found on the www.prostate-research.org.uk website. See you there?
Roger Kirby