Fundraiser for Malawi girls’ sanitary products
Councillor all set to undertake mammoth charity cycle in bid to raise cash for good cause
A MONSTER bike ride this month aims to raise cash for feminine hygiene products for girls in Southeast Africa.
Tweeddale East councillor Robin Tatler is tackling the 66-mile Loch Ness Étape for the second year running.
He is hoping to raise at least £500 to help girls in the Malawian town of Thondwe, which has received supported by Innerleithen, Traquair & Walkerburn Parish Church of Scotland for many years.
Mr Tatler has already raised 55 per cent of his target.
On his JustGiving page Mr Tatler said: “Period poverty holds girls back in Thondwe, a community twinned with Innerleithen, Walkerburn & Traquair.
“The partnership established the Thondwe Girls Project to combat the lack of feminine hygiene products, provide a practical solution and empower a local sewing group to put their treadle machines to good use making the pads.
“A washable kit costing £10 will help a girl manage her period for three years.”
A spokesperson for Innerleithen, Walkerburn and Traquair Rotary Club wrote on social media: “On yer bike Robin – we’re supporting our past president on his cycle challenge to raise funds for the Thondwe Girls Project.”
Speaking to the Border Telegraph Mr Tatler added: “It is the second time I will have done the event – I completed it last year
“The three massive hills as you come out of Fort Augustus on the return are the real challenge.
“I am doing the sponsorship in my Rotary capacity, and I visited Thondwe, in Malawi, in 2017, so I am aware of the girls’ needs.”
Malawi is bordered by Zambia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Mozambique.
It is narrow and landlocked but has a 750-kilometre-long border with Lake Malawi, also called Lake Nyasa.
Thondwe is a market town of about 25,000 and the church there works with about 1,000 adults and 2,000 primary pupils in a few villages.
The étape is a cycle sportive on Sunday, April 28, around the iconic Loch Ness, offering the chance to enjoy the 66-mile circuit on traffic-free roads.
It starts and finishes in the Highland capital of Inverness, offering
900 metres of ascent.
Its King of the Mountain stage is a 4.8-mile climb gaining 380m in height with a gradient reaching 12 per cent.