Nursery World Scotland sponsored pre-school supervisor Jill Sim (pictured, left) and assistant manager Gail Johnston, from Rothienorman Pre-school in Inverurie, to trek the Great Wall in aid of the Aberlour Child Care Trust which supports vulnerable children throughout Scotland. Together they raised more than 5,000 for the charity, and the whole group on the trek raised a total of around 120,000.
Jill said, 'I had a desire to help children less fortunate than the ones I work with every day. The Aberlour Child Care Trust is one of Scotland's oldest and most respected charities and when I read about this trek I knew it was the challenge I'd been waiting for.'
Jill kept a diary of their nine-day adventure, including the following excerpts.
'29 October: We climbed 13km of the wall at the Huangyaguan Pass and were rewarded by dinner including thousand-year-old eggs, sheep's knuckles and duck's necks.'
'30 October: Our Chinese guide tells us that children normally start school at eight but there is a lot of pressure for parents to start them earlier. They learn English as a compulsory subject from age ten - the guide asks how old Scottish children are when they learn Chinese!' '1 November: Today we set off to Jurongguan Pass. There are more than 1600 steps to the top of the mountain, but the views are spectacular.'
'2 November: After 16 hours on an overnight train we arrive in ancient X'ian where the population is bigger than the whole of Scotland. We pass a nursery with a beautiful outdoor play area. The children are marching in threes behind their teacher. The children in Huxian county are curious to see Westerners and eager to accept our sweets. They are bright and happy despite living in conditions we'd consider unsanitary and impoverished.' '3 November: We see the amazing Terracotta Warriors and then walk the X'ian city walls as the last part of our challenge.'
'4 November: Having flown back to Beijing we visit a market and see unusual musical instruments and the tiny shoes women wore in the days of foot-binding.'
'5 November: We tour enormous Tian'anmen Square and the palatial Forbidden City which is spellbinding. Our last night includes a Peking Duck banquet to celebrate our achievement and say goodbye to our new friends.'
For details of future Aberlour events visit www.aberlour.org.uk.