19thOctober 2009

Thank you to everyone who has brought us this far in our fundraising for Nazareth Hospital. Your response has been humbling and your encouragment overwhelming. Our training has been going well - only one flat tire so far. We have managed longish rides most weekends in various parts of Scotland: from in and around Glasgow, to rural Perthshire, the Trossachs and Aberdeenshire. We have enjoyed the usual eclectic mix of Scottish weather: from the truly benign, with light winds and warm sunshine, to the simply abonimable. We tell ourselves that the latter is a necessary requirement to ensure the adequate development of strength and character. Until you have experienced coming to a standstill in a howling wind as you grind 10 miles uphill in a Scottish glen with the rain dripping off every part of your anatomy it is difficult to fully share. We were still smiling - at the end! 

 

September 2009

Thanks for visiting our fund raising page.

On the 1st of November we will fly out to Amman in Jordan to join 20+ other folk and spend the next 5 days cycling from Amman to Nazareth, via the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley and across the Sea of Galilee. We understand the last bit will be on a boat rather than a bike. The total distance cycled will be about 250 miles, and to quote the organisers, "this is not a holiday." Having said that we are training hard and looking forward to the trip and challenge.

While it will be a challenge - particularly for the elder member of the duo - the main aim of the trip is to raise funds for the Nazareth Hospital. The hospital was founded in the mid-19th Century and has grown from a 4 bed ad-hoc facility to a 136 bed District General Hospital. Every year it handles 11,000 in-patients, 57,000 out-patients and caters for 2,700 births. It has the only 24-hour A&E Department in the area which each year handles 48,000 emergency attendances.

So what else makes this a special hospital? It is the oldest hospital in Israel / Palestine. It exists and works in the middle of a very complex society, serving regardless of ethnic background, creed or ability to pay all of its Muslim, Jewish and Christian patients. A significant part of its funding is provided by donations from overseas supporters. It has close connections to the UK and Scotland through its founding by the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society. Finally, to quote the hospital itself, "It aims to be a hospital at the heart of the life of its diverse community, continuing to have a strong Christian identity as it witnesses to the Christian faith through its ministry of healing and reconciliation between people."

We believe all of this is something well worth supporting. Our aim is to raise £5,000 with your help.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and secure. It's also the most efficient way to sponsor us: EMMS International gets your money faster and, if you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

If you are able to support us please do it now, and remember to tick the Gift Aid box.

Thanks

Gavin & David

ps We'll keep you up to date on how things are progressing - so watch this space.