Remember the early ’90s hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers? The song had Scottish brothers Craig and Charlie Reid proclaiming, “I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.” Well, they finally fulfilled the first part of that lyric, but instead of walking for a girl, they broke in their Reeboks for disabled individuals in Malawi and Zambia.
Olivia Giles, a one-time lawyer who lost her hands and feet to meningitis, organized the walk on behalf of her Healing Foundation, which purchases artificial limbs for people in Africa. Of course, 500 miles is a bit much for anyone to walk, so the event featured 500 participants — including the Proclaimers and other Scottish notables like Nick Nairn, Alan Rough and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon — walking a mile each around Festival Square in Edinburgh.
Remarked Giles, “This is about celebrating our mobility and using it to help people who do not have a national health service to support them if they lose theirs.”
Photo by Today Is a Good Day courtesy of Flickr.