A COVENTRY man has raised £25,000 in a coast-to-coast challenge for building new classrooms for orphans in Zambia.
In a remarkable feat of endurance and charity, Canon Gavin Kibble MBE has raised cash for Feed The Hungry by completing a grueling 200-mile coast-to-coast walk across England.
Celebrating his 60th birthday year, Gavin embarked on the 13-day trek, traversing three national parks from St Bees Head in Lancashire to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire.
Gavin said, “The Coast-to-Coast is the biggest challenge I’ve undertaken in my entire life. By any stretch of the imagination, this is a really tough walk.”
The trek was particularly significant for Gavin, who has been on a path to regain his fitness after suffering a heart attack two years ago.
“I had angina before the heart attack, so walking even 200 feet without chest pain was challenging. Now I can walk 20 miles without any issues. It makes you celebrate and appreciate your good health in a way that I hadn’t done before.”
Despite facing injuries and rainstorms, Gavin found joy in the journey, recalling the stunning views over Ullswater from St Sunday’s Crag and the unique experience of meeting a bride in her wedding dress and hiking boots making her way to her ceremony on the Fells.
“It asks questions of you as an individual all the way through, but I learned I am a whole lot more resilient than I thought I was.”
The funds raised will support the construction of the Lukkamano School extension in Mazabuka, Zambia, a project close to Gavin’s heart since his visit in 2019.
It comes less than two weeks after taking part in a 34km Foodbankathon walk between all 15 of Coventry’s foodbank centres.
Feed The Hungry provides regular meals for children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic, and the new classrooms will further aid their education.
Gavin and his wife, Viv, are planning a return trip to Zambia in March to witness the progress of the school, which will be named after Gavin in recognition of his fundraising efforts.
Gavin added: “We are hugely appreciative of the donations we’ve had so far which will allow us to build the school but we would love more funds so we can kit it out as well with desks, chairs and computer equipment.
“It helps children who have been orphaned and will give them greater chances to flourish in their own country by being properly educated. By donating you are helping to improve the life chances of hundreds of children.”
Visit: feedthehungry.org.uk/coast-to-coast/ to donate.
