The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Winning duo walking back to happiness
Two Fifers who help boost others’ health through walking are among Scotland’s first walking champions.
Charity worker Magdalena Augustynlygas, who runs a walking group to help migrants boost their health, social life and spoken English, has been named the first overall champion of the Scottish Walking Awards.
Judges were impressed by Magdalena’s Sole Sisters community health project through her work with Fife Migrants Forum.
She scooped the community walking champion and overall champion titles, from among more than 160 entries in 10 categories.
Another Fifer, Ross Cunningham, was also recognised for his work to improve mental health through hillwalking.
The Glenrothes man’s Mountains Mend Minds social media platform has found great success, particularly in supporting men who can be reluctant to discuss their issues.
Ross was named the Media/online Walking Champion.
Both he and Magdalena are delighted with their awards.
Magdalena said: “The project has been really important for reducing barriers to walking for migrant women, increasing cultural understanding and reducing isolation and increasing physical and mental wellbeing.
“While it has been
challenging to keep the work going during the pandemic, we are so pleased with what the project has been able to achieve.
“Sole Sisters is not only about walking, but also about building strong, lasting relationships within the community.”
The Sole Sisters project brings together women
from the migrant and local community through walks in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
Meanwhile, Ross hit the headlines last year when he launched a bid to climb three Munros from the comfort of his Glenrothes home.
His gruelling week-long challenge in aid of the Scottish Association for
Mental Health (SAMH) saw him climb more than 10,000 feet using his staircase.
And he now encourages others to get active as a way of improving their mental health.
“Hillwalking gave me a focus at a time when I was really struggling with my mental health and it really helped me,” he said.