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View Full Version : Dot says a big thank-you for Trek India walk support



Nwicker60
16-Mar-11, 09:06
Dot’s Indian trek for
the love of Stevie and
many deserving children.

DOT SINCLAIR from Watten has seven thousand, seven hundred and thirty four reasons for saying thank-you... and each one of them represents a £.
That’s the staggering sum she raised from a foreign walking challenge she undertook last November, and the money is still coming in.
It’s a measure of the response she has generated for her fundraiser. The folk who sponsored her and donated cash, time, after time, after time... were not only impressed with the magnitude of the challenge but the moving reason that went hand-in-hand with it.
Dot, of Henderson Square, Watten, lost her son Stevie, in May last year, at the age of 24. He had a few medical problems including a heart murmur and she remembers him fondly as “a happy, loving, child, full of fun and devilment”.
Dot wanted to do something special in his memory, and, by way of a thank-you to the children’s hospitals which had done so much for her son. Her eye fell on an item on the notice board, at Dounreay where she works, about the “Trek India Challenge” and “that was it”.
But before undertaking the 65-kilometre marathon through the foothills of the Himalayas there was a qualification hurdle to clear. Dot had first to raise £3000 in sponsorship plus her registration fee of £249. But, while it might have seemed like a mountain to climb, it turned out to be not quite as tough a consideration, as you might imagine, as Caithness folk responded generously with sponsorship, and support for local fundraisers, ranging from guess the doll’s birthday to a raffle and an open day in the Watten hall.
As well as getting financially prepared, Dot had to be ready for the 10-day trek, physically, and embarked on a gruelling programme of walks, aerobics, mountain climbing and energy-demanding spurts up and down the steep Whaligoe steps. She celebrated her 50th birthday by flying out to India.
Among the unforgettable moments she recalls on Trek India...Dharamasala, the Dalai Lama’s town, the starting and finishing point where Dot stayed with the other 23 walkers, the Buddhist monks, walking in the baking sun, the breathtaking scenery, the heart-stopping moment when one girl slipped down a hillside and the relief when she was found to be unharmed, the Taj Mahal... oh yes, and teaching one of their Indian guides and “a guy called Dave” from Bolton, how to do the Scottish Military Two-step to Indian traditional music.
The proceeds from the walk will be distributed to Medequip4kids, in Prestwick, Bolton Lads and Girls Club and the Odora Children’s Trust, based in London.
She thought that caithness.org would be well-placed to say a great big global thank-you to everyone at home and abroad, who helped make it all possible.