Nursing lecturer goes that extra mile to help students in Bangladesh through COVID-19 hardship

Bighearted nursing lecturer Dr Gordon Hill got on his marks to raise £500 by running 70km to support student nurses at Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh and reached the finish line with almost three times his original target.

It is part of Dr Hill’s job as GCU Department of Nursing and Community Health Senior Lecturer (International) to help students at Grameen Caledonian College with their nursing programme.

He became aware that Bangladesh is suffering more than most countries because of COVID-19, their healthcare system is struggling to manage the consequences of the virus and the students have had to cope with studying while the campus is closed, looking after themselves and caring for families. Many of them live in poor communities.

Dr Hill wanted to do something to raise money to help the students struggling financially and give them support if they or their families became unwell so he decided to run 70km – the equivalent of his normal commute from his home in Edinburgh to the Glasgow campus.

He has been overwhelmed by the generosity of staff, students, family and friends and has now received more than £1200 in donations through his JustGiving page.

Dr Hill said: “After speaking to friends and colleagues in Bangladesh, and watching reports on the news, I was saddened by the severity that COVID-19 had struck the country so I decided to set up a crowdfunding page to help to raise money for them. This will be used if they need to access healthcare, or are experiencing particular hardship during this period.

“I wanted to provide a focus for this fundraising and as my normal commute from my home in Edinburgh to GCU is 70km, I decided to run this distance, though not in one go!

“I had initially hoped to raise £500, but after the amazing generosity of colleagues, students, friends and family I had to quickly double the target to £1000. Having completed my challenge on July 27 the total donated stands at more than £1200. This amount is just amazing and I can’t thank everyone who has donated enough. I have been blown away by everyone’s generosity.

“For a country where the average monthly income is $60, this will go a long way to supporting some of the most severely affected nursing students in the College.”

You can still donate to Dr Hill’s fundraiser by visiting his JustGiving page here.