TWO pilgrims are walking to every Anglican cathedral in England to raise funds towards university tuition fees for school leavers from a school in the West Bank.
The pilgrims, Clare Slator and Dorothy Gray, are walking to every cathedral over a period of 24 months to publicise the Jeel scholarship fund, which provides educational grants to school leavers from Jeel Al-Amal School, near Bethany.
They are walking up to ten miles on each visit, following known pilgrimage routes to each cathedral. Starting in Yorkshire, near their homes, their first visit was to Durham. They have visited 19 cathedrals so far, and hope to complete the rest in 2025, although getting to Truro is taking some planning.
At each one, they attend a service and meet a member of the clergy to raise awareness of the work of the school and the scholarship fund. Their two dogs — a miniature Jack Russell and a collie — accompany them on each walk and into the services, too, and have been “warmly received”, Ms Slator said.
“Our longest walk so far has been around ten miles. It’s been quite an eye-opener for both of us. On some routes, we pass through great beauty, and on others we have seen signs of dire poverty.
“We can’t have a favourite, but I was really surprised by our visit to Coventry; it was just amazing. It was lovely and welcoming. At Bury St Edmunds, people were unbelievably friendly, and, when we attended morning prayer at Ely, we opened the small wooden door and just felt, wow, it was so beautiful, with the natural light streaming in.”
She said that she was particularly looking forward to her visit to St German’s Cathedral, on the Isle of Man, near to which her father, a refugee from Nazi Germany, was interned in the war. He died a decade ago.
Their next visit is to Leicester Cathedral; “so we are busy reading up about Richard III.”
She was inspired, she said, by the students at Jeel Al-Amal whom she first visited on a pilgrimage with her former vicar the Revd Alison Askew. “We are so in awe of what they do to continue their studies. Some have to travel three hours each way by bus to get to university, due to roadblocks, and they come home late for a few hours sleep before starting again. It is humbling.”
Jeel Al-Amal educates pupils whose parents are unable to care for them, or who have been orphaned. When they reach 18, they have to leave the school and its accommodation and find work, but the fund hopes to pay the tuition fees of students who wish to go on to further study.
The fund’s first student, Mohammad, qualified as a nurse anaesthetist this year.
The fund is currently supporting students undertaking degrees in medicine, nursing, and IT.
To support the scholarship fund, visit: jeelscholarshipfund.org