Heather heads for top of the world

Heather will take part in a sponsored charity trek in Bhutan, the tiny independent country nestled in the shadow of the Himalayas,with the aim of raising money for an educational fund.

Bhutan was closed to the West until the early 1970s. Most of the population of 650,000 are subsistence farmers, living in isolated rural communities that are often cut off for several months of the year when snow closes the mountain passes.

Heather’s trek will cover more thanover 100 kms, from the end of a dirt road to the village of Laya, near the Tibetan border, reaching an altitude of over 4000m – and back again.

In conjunction with the Australian Himalayan Foundation, Heather is raising money for a girls’ education program in Bhutan. Many children in remote areas live too far from the nearest school to get there and back in a day, so miss out on a basic education. The only option is boarding school which is beyond the means of many rural families, with boys given priority over girls.

About £65 covers the cost of sending a girl to boarding school for a whole year.

Heather is a former pupil of the Diamond Primary School, Cullybackey, where her father, Bertie McNeice, was the headmaster for many years. From Ballymena Academy, she went to Cambridge to study law, returning to Ballymena during the summer holidays to work for this very newspaper!

After partnership in a London law firm, and a stint in Edinburgh, Heather moved to Noosa, in Queensland, Australia, where she continues to practice English law as a consultant to two English law firms, working remotely, while enjoying the great Aussie lifestyle with her husband and three children.

If anyone would like to sponsor Heather and Rachel you can do so online at http://www.gofundraise.com.au/page/HeatherRachel

Because Heather now lives in Australia, the donation will be in Australian dollars (£1.00 is currently about $1.50). Heather will be back in Ballymena at Christmas and has promised to drop in and let us know how she gets on in Bhutan.