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5:10pm Friday 14th November 2008 in
ONE of Swindon’s most prominent religious figures pounded the town’s streets for a worthy cause many miles away.
Bishop of Swindon, the Right Reverend Dr Lee Rayfield, took part in last month’s Swindon Half Marathon for the fourth time and, despite recording his slowest time, has still raised over £400.
“The sponsorship money is still coming in thick and fast,” he said.
“People’s generosity never fails to impress.”
The 53-year-old, from Old Town, who trains twice a week, completed the 13-mile course in an hour and 55 minutes and has already pledged to take part again next year.
The money he raised will go to helping people in Uganda.
He visited last year because he is part of the Diocese of Bristol, which is linked to the church in Uganda.
Bishop Lee has already sent out some funds from a previous run, which will go towards furnishing a ward at the relief camp.
He said he has been helping a refugee camp and saw the plight of internally displaced Ugandans in Paloga, just a few miles from the border with Sudan, and has plans to return in May next year.
Bishop Lee said: “The situation is desperate.
“There are some 30,000 people packed together with barely room to move between huts.
“You cannot believe how fortunate we are and what abundance we have in this country.
“Our money goes an awful long way in Africa.”
Now cattle and ploughs are needed to provide food for families, money is needed for education and the people have also asked him for support to build a church.
It was seeing all of this that inspired Bishop Lee to run for the people of the village.
“It’s a mixture of being appalled by some of the conditions that people live in and inspired by the amazing resilience and hope particularly of the Christian community there,” he said.
“I saw things which were pretty horrific and the living conditions which were incredibly awful.
“But the hope and the perseverance of the people there was truly inspiring.”
Anyone who still wishes to donate to Bishop Lee’s run should send it to the Bishop of Swindon, Mark House, Field Rise, Wiltshire, SN1 4HP.
More than 2,500 people participated in this year’s run and organisers are keen to find out how much the event raised.
Participants are asked to let them know how much they raised for their charity by Friday, December 12, by calling 01793 511033 or email swindonhalfmarathon@ swindon.gov.uk.
Comments(4)
Jiver
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10:30pm Sat 15 Nov 08
Always Grumpy
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11:48am Sun 16 Nov 08
malkym1
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5:19pm Sun 16 Nov 08
Jiver
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7:23pm Sun 16 Nov 08
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