Auldearn 21-year-old tackles 200-mile walk from Inverness to Orkney raising £1200 to support humanitarian aid in Palestine

A Nairnshire 21-year-old has completed a mammoth 200- miles walk to raise funds and awareness for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

Rob Dunkley, from Auldearn, decided to take on the hike from Inverness to the north of mainland Orkney out of need of running away from the current state of the world - however he eventually thought to turn the feat into an opportunity to support people affected by the war on Palestine.

At the time of writing, he has raised more than £1200 for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), an organisation providing medical and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, and to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

“I am very grateful to have done the hike,” he said, after having arrived at his destination last Friday.

“It's been very grounding and helped me feel less numb to everything going on in the world. Definitely won't be doing such a long hike again alone, as the alone time can be tough! It has also reminded me how open strangers still are to chatting and listening to others.”

This is Rob’s first fundraiser, and one that he had not initially planned.

“I was just feeling very overwhelmed with everything in the world, and I wanted to do something to kind of escape from it, and run away — shut off from the world and go off grid for a bit,” he explained.

“I just wanted to feel less overwhelmed and helpless. With everything that’s going on is easy to forget about the good things in life.

“I wasn't actually planning it as a fundraiser. I was just kind of doing it selfishly.

“Then I realised this was not very helpful in the grand scheme of things, and that this is something that people will pay attention to, something that can be a focal point and make a fundraiser out of it.”

Rob set up a dedicated Go Fund Me page and then an Instagram account @hike.forpalestine to share his journey.

“I wanted something that was focused on Palestine obviously,” he said about the choice of the charity.

“In the past year, since the genocide in Gaza started, it's been hard to feel that you can do anything, I felt helpless and useless.

“I know this is a very small, individual action, but I think it's a good way to start getting more involved, get into some action.

“I know Medical Aid for Palestinians works in Gaza but can also work in the West Bank and in refugee camps in Lebanon.

“Because it's quite hard to know when aid can actually get into Gaza, because the situation there changes so much every day, I knew that no matter the odds, they'll still be able to help Palestinian people outside of it as well.”

He said that the walk has also become an opportunity to network with other activists on the way.

He said: “The fundraiser has put me in contact with people in the local Orkney community who are constantly organising events and vigils in solidarity with Palestine, and it's incredible meeting people doing something at a local level.”

He hopes to continue his social action journey when he moves to Edinburgh this summer to study textile design — and potentially join local groups such as Greenpeace.

You can support Rob’s fundraiser at Support Medical Relief in Palestine.

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