Man to Walk 98 Miles to Raise Money for Sudan's Schools

A member of an order of Catholic laymen known as the Knights of St Columba is undertaking a gruelling 98-mile trek to raise money for schools in Sudan.

George McLaughlin will be walking the West Highland Way in North West Scotland from 29 July to 4 August 2012, to raise money for the Save the Saveable schools based around Khartoum.

Save the Saveable schools is an intiative being run by Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need. The Knights will be supporting the charity during 2012 and hope to raise a total of £10,000, with £1500 coming from those sponsoring Mr McLaughlin's walk.

Mr McLaughlin, from Alloa, in the Central Lowlands, described the 98-mile route from Glasgow to Fort William as "challenging". His brother in law, Adrian, will be accompanying him.

Mr McLaughlin is currently the action officer for the Knights, and is hoping to lead by example.

"It's my role to make sure we're raising awareness of the charity. If I'm an action officer, I should be taking action."

Despite not training for the event, Mr McLaughlin said he is "confident" both he and his brother in law will complete the walk.

"We'll get to the end. I'm quite a determined person. I did a parachute jump for Cancer Research last year. Since I've turned 50 I've decided to do things I've never done before".

Any money raised by the walk will help pay for children's education in Sudan. The charity say money donated via Aid to the Church in Need is often the only way parents can meet the costs of their children's education.

Mr McLaughlin has set up an online Just Giving page where people can sponsor him.