Dear Friend or Supporter

On 7th September my friend Gavin Marshall left Le Puy in France on a month-long bicycle ride into north-western Spain.  He is following the Camino Frances, the famous medieval pilgrims’ route to Santiago de Compostella,   in what he calls his  “Santiago Pilgrimage for Water”.
Through the sponsorship of friends and business, Gavin’s ambitous goal is to raise £35,000 for an Oxfam project to bring clean, safe and accessible water supplies  to two impoverished districts of western Zambia.
A group of us are joining Gavin for sections of the 1,500 km ride, and helping in his fund-raising effort.  On 27th September I will join him at Leon in Spain, to cycle the last week of the route into Santiago.
From an idea inspired by his daughter’s recent visit to East Africa, Gavin has personally raised nearly £11,000 to date, with his own donations page at www.justgiving.com/gavinmarshall.    I’ve set my own target at a modest £2,000.
In the Kaoma and Mongu districts of western Zambia, where this specific Oxfam project is targeted, a little money can make a lot of difference.  Approximately £220 is enough to install and maintain a community well, while a fully brick-lined well comes in at about £440.    A complete bore-hole with pump for the local school £3,915, while more prosaically a school latrine costs about £250.
Clean and close water supplies for schools and local communities cut the spread of water-borne disease, and improve crops and sanitation.   Families currently forced  to fetch water from remote wells or rivers can save hours of labour in a day.
The  Camino Frances dates back to at least the 9th Century, when Charlemagne went to Santiago, or St James, to visit the legendary resting place of the apostle St James the Greater.
We aim to reach the traditional finish point at Finisterre,  the coastal spur jutting west out into the Atlantic where pilgrims traditionally burned their boots at the “end of the world”.
Thank you for any support you can give us.

Tim Cornwell

***Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Oxfam 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.

***Tim Cornwell is the arts correspondent of The Scotsman and will be writing about the pilgrims’ route for The Scotsman’s Saturday magazine.   This July, he climbed his first Swiss mountain, The Monch, in the Jungrau region, with a lot of help from mountain guide Martin Schumann.