Scottish bus ladies 'walk for water'

A formidable team of ladies from the Scottish bus industry are to climb one of Scotland's 283 Munros to raise money for Walk for Water on August 1.

The ladies have been recruited for this challenge by the Balcraig Foundation, which was founded in 1992 by Ann Gloag, co-founder of Scottish transport group Stagecoach.

The foundation supports the Soila Maasai Girls Rescue Centre in Kenya's Rift Valley, which provides support and education to 100 Maasai girls between the ages of 8 to 16 years old.  With the cooperation of the local chiefs, the centre provides the girls with an alternative childhood, free from arranged marriages and mutilation.

However, the cost of providing water for the centre has soared because of the prolonged drought in Kenya and so the foundation is organising Walk for Water.

The challenge is to climb Glas Tualaichean, one of Scotland's 283 Munros, which is 1,051m high and to raise as much money as possible. Each £21 raised will cover the cost of water for six months for one Soila Maasai Girl.

The Balcraig Foundation's team of bus industry belles includes Sarah Longair (operations director at Stagecoach East Scotland), Sandra Whitelaw (of family-owned bus and coach operator Whitelaws Coaches), Kim Morrison (who works for VOSA in Edinburgh) and Marjory Rodger, who retired from CPT Scotland last year after receiving an MBE for services to the bus industry.

They will be joined by Paul White and Jeremy Tinsley of CPT Scotland, Brian Juffs, special bus development adviser at The Scottish Government, and Robert Jack, managing editor of New Transit magazine.

The team have already received generous support from their industry colleagues and other sources, but have some way to go to reach their £5,000 target - enough to ensure that all of the 100 of the girls at the centre have enough water for 12 months. If you would like to offer your support visit www.justgiving.com/WalkforWater2010