It was 10 years ago that Emunah started planning the first sponsored walk. Commencing in 2004 on the West Highland Way in Scotland, followed by the Wicklow Way in Ireland in 2006, Snowdonia in Wales in 2008 and the Lake District in 2009. A walking group met regularly on Hampstead Heath under the guidance of Terry and Elaine, with a 2 day Dorset Dash thrown in for good measure.
This one day memorial walk provided the opportunity to catch up with some friends made along the way, and also to welcome new walkers. Marilyn Dexter and Anne Ozdamar represented Bournemouth, with Anne’s daughter Liza and her husband Gavin Sinai joining in. We were blessed with lovely weather as we climbed up Coombe Hill to take in spectacular views of the Chiltern Hills, before tackling a circular route including the grounds of Chequers, complete with CCTV cameras and a police escort for part of the route!
The purpose of this walk was to raise money for a new Art Therapy Centre at the Sarah Herzog Children’s Centre in Afula, which is home to over 200 children suffering from various degrees of neglect, abuse and dysfunction. The love and care they receive enables them to overcome the traumas they have faced and integrate back into the community. As we ate our lunch we remembered Anna Finchas z”l, a talented artist and Emunah member who had participated in all the previous sponsored walks, and to whom the new project is being dedicated.
We are pleased to say that we all successfully completed the 11.5 miles without incident – with a few photos, aching muscles and your kind sponsorship donations to show for our efforts. We would like to thank each and every one of you who has made a donation – we could not succeed without you. Our total is over £600 and rising. If you have not yet done so, it is still not too late to donate!
Thank you all on behalf of Emunah and ourselves.
