A TEAM of Bradfordians raised over £2,000 for charity after taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks earlier this month.
The dedicated trekkers carried out the walk in aid of Bradford charity the Imran Khan Cancer Appeal (IKCA), which supports cancer patients in Pakistan – a country where medical standards differ and there is no national health service.
Tariq Parvaiz, 62, took part in the challenge, and praised the IKCA for doing a “great job”.
“I’ve been walking for six or seven years now,” Tariq, from Clayton, added.
“I used to run before, then I went on a walk one day and really enjoyed it. Since then, I’ve done lots of walks with IKCA, like Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis.
“You get to spend the full day outside, in nature, enjoying the fresh air – it’s very good for your body.
“I think health is wealth – if you don’t have health, you have nothing. It doesn’t matter how much money you have.”
Tariq added that there are now growing numbers of South Asian people enjoying walks in the British countryside, going against traditional stereotypes.
“Before I didn’t see many Asian people on walks, but now they get out more,” he said.
“Wherever you go, you see loads, which is good.
“It’s important to enjoy beautiful countryside, especially when it’s for a good cause. Health and staying fit should always be a priority.”
Ikhlaq Ahmad, manager at IKCA, said: “On the glorious morning of Saturday, 6 August, a team of dedicated volunteers assembled to do the Three Peaks challenge in aid of IKCA.
“The aim was to complete 25 miles and do all Three Peaks within 12 hours.
“It is never easy to walk that distance and when you add three mountains to that, it gets even tougher.
“But spirits were high and everyone wanted to test their limits. After a gruelling 12 hours, the team managed to complete the challenge just in time.
“If you have cancer in Pakistan, you don’t have the same access to health care as we do in the UK. A lot of people there cannot afford the treatment – it’s very expensive.
“That’s why the IKCA provides that little bit of hope to them, giving them access to free treatment.”
Last year, the charity helped to treat 13,000 new patients at its hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, Ikhlaq added.
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