Have you ever wondered what you could do in just a few hours that would make a direct difference to those we support in Africa? An amazing way to do this is by taking part in one of the Kiltwalks (or all 4 of them if you’re really keen!) Don’t give up reading – this might just be something you could do this year. The Kiltwalk is such an easy way to raise money, no matter what your fitness level is like!
Kiltwalks take place in 4 locations – Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh and each walk has 3 different lengths so you can choose whichever one suits you best. I took part in my first Kiltwalk back in 2019. Michael and I have always enjoyed walking 4 or 5 miles at a time but we decided this would be a great way to improve our fitness levels and give ourselves a challenge with the huge bonus of raising funds for the people we have grown to love in Africa. So, before we could talk ourselves out of it, we signed up for the Edinburgh Kiltwalk Mighty Stride and started to lengthen our walks in preparation for the 24 miles we had undertaken to complete. We found it really enjoyable training, building on our speed and length of walk. It was a great opportunity to find different places to walk although we did one time find ourselves having to get a bus and a train home having walked from our home in Dalgety Bay to Bo’ness. (It’s definitely worth planning your route well!)
On the day of the Kiltwalk we had no plans to complete within any time scale, we just wanted to finish. However, when everyone starts together it can be quite congested so we did become a tiny bit competitive and started overtaking anyone we could. We got into a really good pace and found ourselves really focused on going as fast as we could. This is NOT a competition though and most people just choose to walk at their own comfortable pace, chatting with the many people you meet along the way. There are many “pit stops” along the way where you can grab free snacks, fruit, water or a loo stop. Everything is really well signposted and you are supported along the way by the many volunteers.
The exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line to cheers and applause is wonderful and, in my experience, emotional too but knowing you’ve made a massive difference to a Street Kid in South Sudan, a Congolese ex-Child Soldier or a Mum and Baby in Rwanda is a feeling of undeniable joy. The Kiltwalk is a great way to raise funds and all fundraising plus all eligible Gift Aid goes directly to Comfort International (that’s up to 125%*). Last year a staggering £12,408 was raised by people walking for Comfort International. Can you imagine the difference that money has made?
This year marks 25 years of our charity. My challenge – could we get 25 people to commit to taking part in a Kiltwalk? Remember there are 3 different lengths of walk in 4 different locations. You can walk alone (as I did last year) or gather together a team of people from your church, friends, your family. You’ll even get a free Comfort International t-shirt!
It’s a fun way to spend a day together, improve your fitness through some training and make the most amazing difference to a precious child of God in Africa.
Get your team together now and sign up to make a massive difference!
GLASGOW – Sunday 28th April
ABERDEEN – Sunday 2nd June
DUNDEE – Sunday 11th August
EDINBURGH – Sunday 15th September