Epic 220-mile run helps ensure minister's legacy in India lives on
Published on 15 April 2024 1 minute read
Youngsters have completed an epic 220-mile relay run across Scotland in support of vulnerable children in India.
The 24-strong group embarked on the 48-hour ‘Hope Run' in aid of Dr Graham's Homes in Kalimpong.
It was founded in 1900 by Church of Scotland minister, Very Rev Dr John Anderson Graham, who brought hope, security and education to poverty-stricken orphans.
They were born to white European fathers and Indian mothers, who routinely found themselves rejected by both communities.
Today, Dr Graham's Homes is a boarding school complex with homes for around 1,300 pupils and while it is fee paying, donations are required to fund sponsored places for disadvantaged children.
The runners from Beech Grove School in Dover, Kent set off from Cardross Parish Church in Argyll and Bute on Friday and finished at Stockbridge Parish Church in Edinburgh yesterday.
The two churches were key places in the missionary's life – he grew up in Cardross and was a member of the church in Stockbridge.
The runners and their supporters stayed at Cardross Parish Church the night before they set off, giving a presentation on their endeavor and enjoying the hospitality of members and minister, Rev Maggie McArthur.
Their route took them to Tarbert near Loch Lomond to Strachur then down to Dunoon and over to Troon by ferry.
On day two, they headed 100 miles east to Glasgow before joining the Forth and Clyde Canal trail to the finish line in Edinburgh.
The youngsters ran in groups of eight in 30 minute segments and were welcomed at Stockbridge Parish Church by members of the congregation and locum minister, Rev John Munro and served breakfast.
Dr Graham was the Moderator of the General Assembly in 1931 - believed to be the only missionary to hold the honorary position.
He was married to Katherine McConachie with whom he had six children and the couple dedicated themselves to alleviating poverty in the Himalayan foothills.
His wife died in 1919 and as a tribute, he built the Katherine Graham Chapel in the heart of Dr Graham's Homes.
Dr Graham died in 1942 and he is buried beside his wife in the Chapel's Garden of Remembrance.
