A FUNDRAISING trek across the lofty heights of the Great Wall of China has left two Whakatane women proud, and the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation with an extra $7602 in its coffers.
Linda Wilson and Julie Collins were invited to take part in the fundraising trek after raising more than $4000 for the foundation through several community events in 2016, including the popular Brafternoon Tea. While excited at the prospect of taking part in the Pink Ribbon Great Wall Trek, it was no easy invitation, says Linda.
Pink Ribbon treks are self-funded with all participants paying their own way, and additionally, to qualify, participants need to fundraise an additional $3500 for the foundation.
That goal made 2017 a busy year for Linda and Julie. Fundraising, they say, took over their lives, and reaching the joint $7000 target late last year was a considerable relief.
“But all the effort was worth it,” Linda says, with the pair recently returning from the five-day trek across one of the world’s great historic wonders.
A total of 30 women from New Zealand took part in the event, flying to Beijing, and splitting into two groups to make the trek which covered about 100 kilometres of the historic site.
“It was an absolutely awesome experience,” Julie says. “We both feel a real sense of achievement in having got there. We really hadn’t known how much we were going to be able to fundraise so reaching the $7000 mark last year was amazing”. And the extensive training the pair put in prior to event paid off, too. “We were well prepared for those steps.”
She says that, as a group, the 30 women who made the trip had raised a total of $144,000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
“We both feel very proud of that, of contributing to the foundation’s efforts to achieve zero deaths in New Zealand from breast cancer.”
From Beijing, the group headed off to the wall, spending five days trekking across it, walking out at exit points each night to take up accommodation they describe as “humble”.
It was a magical experience, Linda says of the challenging route that included extremely steep sections along unrestored parts of the wall that also featured high drop offs on either side. “It was a bit scary for some of the women.” But while having travelled in China some years ago, Linda says she found the history of the wall astonishing. “It was an adventure of a lifetime,” she says.
The foundation runs fundraising treks annually, with next year’s trek planned to take place on El Camino, Spain’s most famous pilgrimage trail.
Asked whether the two would consider taking on the challenge again, there is a moment’s silence, the mammoth fundraising required clearly looming as a mountain to cross in itself.
But there are soon small sounds of “maybe,” and “could we”, and “possibly”.
The one word that is not heard, is no.
In New Zealand 3000 women and 20 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. The Breast Cancer Foundation’s vision is to prevent New Zealanders from developing and dying from breast cancer, and to improve the quality of life of those who already have the disease.
The foundation’s annual street appeal takes place in October.
“If reading this story prompted even one woman to get some breast irregularity checked that they’ve been putting off, we would be very happy,” Julie says. “Early investigations can save lives.”
By Lorraine Wilson