Wednesday 16th April: Wiltshire fundraiser, Bruce Carter, has arrived back to a ‘hero’s welcome’ at Salisbury Cathedral having walked an incredible 700 miles from John O’Groats to Salisbury as part of a ‘Hike for Hope’ in aid of the UK-based charity Action around Bethlehem Children with Disability (ABCD).
Bruce, who is part of the serving team at Salisbury Cathedral, has raised an incredible £25k so far for the rehabilitation of injured and traumatised children in the Gaza Strip. He was met by a group of close family and friends at Sarum College to celebrate the end of his incredible 6-week challenge.
Having set off on Ash Wednesday 5th March from John O’Groats, Bruce was offered bed and board by different parishioners living on route, averaging around 28km a day.
The UK-based charity ABCD Bethlehem was founded nearly 40 years ago and started with a partnership with the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR), one of the two main rehabilitation hospitals in the West Bank. The charity continues to support the BASR via an outreach programme, as well as providing a grant to the Sheepfold, a children’s centre in Beit Sahour. The charity has also established five comprehensive rehab Centres in refugee camps across the West Bank, each supporting disabled children and their families in the most challenging of circumstances.
With IDF raids on refugee camps in the region continuing, damage to the infrastructure of many of the charity’s centres (in particular, Nur Shams) has rendered services untenable, with the psychological impact on children and young adults incalculable. Due to the generous donations from supporters, ABCD Bethlehem has been able to respond with extra emergency funds of £75k to date. Each of the charities key five centres have received £15k allowing the provision of trauma therapy in addition to the regular rehabilitation programmes, and to deliver food parcels, essential medication and nappies for families who have lost their livelihoods.
Bruce Carter said: “I am delighted that the end of my ‘long stroll’ has coincided with us reaching our fundraising target. It’s been a faith-affirming experience. Over the past 6 weeks, I have received some amazing support from people along the way who have generously opened their homes to me and given me bed and board. Without them, this Challenge simply would not have been possible. I am equally touched by all those people who have supported my fundraising effort by donating and have made it possible for me to reach my target of £25k, which will help to provide vital rehabilitation services to disabled children living in the most difficult of circumstances.
“I am now looking forward to going back home and putting my feet up for the rest of the week.”
Canon Daniel Burton, Chair of Trustees for ABCD added: “We have all been following Bruce’s journey very closely and eagerly here and are delighted that he has completed his Challenge and is safely back home. We have been so heartened and grateful to all those parishioners who have welcomed him so generously along the way, as well as those people who have given money to this very worthy cause. Sadly, the work of ABCD Bethlehem is now more necessary than ever before, as we seek to support families caring for children with disabilities living in refugee camps in the West Bank.
“I hope Bruce’s Hike for Hope inspires others to fundraise for ABCD!”
If you would like to support Bruce for his Lenten Walk please donate here: https://abcdbethlehem.enthuse.com/cf/hike-for-hope2025