A group of Muslim and Christian women from Keighley have joined together to take part in a daring charity abseil to raise money to help a relief organisation working in Syria.
The group of fifteen, horrified by the conflict in Syria, decided to raise money for the White Helmets, a group of unarmed civilian volunteers who risk their lives to deal with the immediate aftermath of bomb attacks to help anyone in need - regardless of their religion or politics.
The abseil took place down the bell tower of Keighley Shared Church. The Revd Jenny Ramsden, Curate at Riddlesden and Morton, who co-organised the charity abseil said, “It was a wonderful (if utterly terrifying) day!”
“Many of us are actually afraid of heights but we figured, our sponsored action needed to be something significant!
“We are quite petrified but we know our fears will be short lived and the end clearly in sight - something the Syrian people do not have sadly.”
She added, “We have been utterly horrified by the conflict in Syria, where ordinary people are paying the highest price. More than 50 bombs and mortars a day land on some neighbourhoods in Syria, many are rusty barrels filled with nails and explosives, maiming and killing hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians.
“It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, but, inspired by a saying from the Talmud (a Jewish Scripture), "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it", we decided that we could no longer sit back and do nothing.”
Anyone inspired by the abseil who would like to sponsor the event can still do so on Just Giving here
More information about the White Helmets here