A Kiltwalk Hero has taken part in her sixth event to honour the memory of her late brother.
Mariya Javed from Elderslie was named a Kiltwalk Hero last year after taking part in so many events and was given an extra £1,000 from The Hunter Foundation.
And this year she, her parents Samenna and Javed and little brother Ayaan, took part in the mammoth fundraising event once again.
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They were walking in memory of their beloved son and brother Ahmar who passed away suddenly in 2017 aged just 13.
Ahmar died just ten days after suffering a seizure out of the blue at karate practice.
His family later found out he had a rare condition called AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation – an abnormal connection of veins and arteries.
Sameena and Javed, from Elderslie, set up a charity, Another Star in the Sky, in association with Glasgow Children’s Hospital, to fund research into rare diseases and provide bereavement support in schools.
Sameena said: “This was Mariya’s sixth Kiltwalk since 2017, when Ahmar left us.
“The Kiltwalk is always a very poignant event for us as it always falls in the last week of April, around the time we lost Ahmar.
“As always Mariya was walking for Another Star in the Sky, the charity fund we set up in association with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, in memory of Ahmar.
“So far we have raised approximately £16,500 that will go towards funding bereavement services and research into AVM, the cruel hidden rare condition that took our son at only 13 years old.
“With some more donations to hopefully still come, we hope to reach the £18,000 mark.”
As well as taking part in the walk, a photo of Mariya and Ahmar was featured alongside an inspirational quote on one of the posters encouraging walkers to keep going along the three distances: the 22.6 mile Mighty Stride, the 15-mile Big Stroll and the three-mile Wee Wander.
(Image: unknown)
The family also met Sir Tom Hunter, whose foundation tops up the fundraising by 50 per cent, and Kiltwalk supporters Paul Cooney and Jackie Bird, at the mammoth fundraising event.
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