GALASHIELS Rotarian and adventurer Duncan McCosh (pictured looking out over the route he has covered) raised more than £3,000 for Jaipur Limb on his latest journey.
Duncan, rector of St Peter’s Church in Galashiels, travelled to America to walk the Grand Canyon from rim to rim over a four-day period. This involved walking from 8,000ft down to 1,600ft, then up again to 6,740ft, all in daytime temperatures between 80 and 100F. The paths were steep and narrow, with precipitous drops to one side and zig-zagged across the cliff faces.
Duncan has already walked the Inca Trail, The Great Wall of China and climbed Kilimanjaro, raising thousands for charity on the way.
Jaipur Limb is an artificial leg, developed at the Mahaveer hospital in Jaipur, India. The unique component is the Jaipur foot, a combination of wood and various densities of rubber vulcanised into a realistic-looking brown foot. The Jaipur Limb is hard-wearing and will last for three or four years, longer if worn with a shoe, allowing amputees to walk, cycle and help them to find work.
The Jaipur Limb project is a pro-active fundraising and project-initiating body of Rotarians drawn from all over UK and Ireland. The bulk of their work in India revolves around Limb camps, with as many as 3,000 patients turning up for help, but in Africa and other countries outside India they establish new permanent centres and provide ongoing support for them by way of technician training, materials and equipment.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Galashiels and its activities, as well as pictures of events, see www.galashiels.rotaryweb.org.