A blind IT teacher from Ayrshire is putting her best foot forward in this year's Kiltwalk for a charity close to her heart.
Debra McKenzie, 63, from Prestwick, will pound the streets of Glasgow on Sunday, April 24 with guide dog Bruce to raise funds for national sight loss charity RNIB Scotland.
Debra, who is working from home at the moment due to Covid, began to lose her sight 15 years ago quite suddenly.
She said: “Both my retinas detached while driving my car and I just managed to get home by pure luck more than anything else. It was scary.
“My eye condition is CMV retinitis and during lockdown my sight started deteriorating and now I have none at all."
Keen walker Debra will now raise cash for RNIB Scotland, for whom she runs a weekly walking group to help others get out into their community and socialise.
She said: “I’m doing the kiltwalk with a friend, Karen Mathers, along with my guide dog Bruce.
“I’m 63 years old and still do a lot of walking. I run a walking group in Prestwick for RNIB Scotland every Wednesday.
“We’ve had great attendance all during lockdown and even in the worst weather people still turn up, which is amazing really.
“I’m also a volunteer for a local RNIB Scotland book club and was a befriender during lockdown to other people who are visually impaired."
Debra added on her fundraising page: “As a volunteer for RNIB, I wish to raise funds to help vulnerable people to socialise and interact with each other after such a bad time.”
RNIB Scotland helps blind and partially-sighted people of all ages live as fully and independently as possible.
The charity – which depends on donations and public support – provides advice, support, training, equipment and lends and transcribes books and other materials. It also works to improve sight loss prevention.
The four Scottish Kiltwalks – in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen – allow people to raise funds for the charities and causes they care about, which receive a 50 per cent top-up from Sir Tom Hunter’s Foundation.
You can support Debra’s Kiltwalk challenge at https://justgiving.com/GlasgowKiltwalk2022-DebraMcKenzie
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