Walking the Great wall in the name of charity

Jul 16 2008 by Iain Pollock, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

A SANQUHAR teenager is going on a Great Wall of China walk in aid of charity. Ceris Aston of Mallards Chase is heading east in support of Action for ME.

She is on the road to recovery after being laid low by the condition for three years and is keen to raise cash for the charity and awareness of the chronic fatigue syndrome.

Ceris said: “I suffered with ME for three years and I’m recovering now and training is improving my fitness.

“For one and a half years I was in bed all the time or on the sofa. I would go out rarely and I suffered extreme exhaustion and pain.

“It was exhausting to even carry out a conversation on the telephone with a friend.”

Ceris, a pupil of Wallace Hall Academy in Thornhill, added: “I started improving at the start of this year. There’s no particular reason, I just started to get better.”

She will join up with other supporters of the charity to walk a section of the Great Wall of China in October. They will be travelling between eight and 12 miles a day for a week. The teenager is likely to be the youngest on the trip as participants must be 18, the age she reaches five days before leaving on the trip.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to it,” she said. “It will be fantastic, I’ve never been to China.”.

Ceris has been fundraising since December and has £1,600 towards the £2,500 cost of the trip.

She has earned money bag packing at Tesco and Morrisons in Dumfries and from a Christmas hamper competition. Ceris hopes to reach her target with more bag packing, car washing and donations.

Anyone wishing to contribute can do so at www.justgiving.com/cerisaston. Ceris expressed thanks to Tesco and Morrisons for their support.