A TEACHER who was mugged and left for dead during a charitable mission to Ecuador is trying to raise money to go back and finish his journey.
William Glover, 34, was knocked unconscious with a bottle and robbed of GBP6000 while walking back to his hotel in the seaside town of Atacames. The thieves left him with nothing but his shorts and shirt.
He was treated with a dirty needle in a South American hospital and is waiting for the results of an HIV test at his home in Alexandria.
The GBP6000 had been raised by Mr Glover and was to be distributed to primary schools during a year-long trip through South America.
Despite his concerns, Mr Glover, who gave up his job teaching at a boarding school in Surrey to make the trip after a cancer scare, has decided to return to complete his journey. He is seeking donations to help make up for the money that was stolen.
"I wanted to do something that was genuinely giving something back and the idea was to link schools here with those in South America and disprove people's misconceptions, " he said.
"People see it as a violent and backward continent and I wanted to disprove that.
"I have to admit I am terrified about going back, but I promised the pupils that I would be going to all these countries and that is what I intend to do. If I don't go back it will confirm people's opinions that it is a dangerous place."
The trip had been backed by Glasgow University, where Mr Glover graduated as a teacher in 1994, and the English Speaking Union, an educational charity.
The aim of the Building Blocks initiative was to travel across Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay relaying the geography and culture to primary and secondary pupils in Scotland through a website, which he updated daily.
The trip also gave pupils in three chosen schools - St Ronan's primary in Bonhill, George Heriot's in Edinburgh and Our Lady and St Patrick's High School in Dumbarton - the chance to e-mail pupils at schools as he visited them.
Professor James Conroy, dean of the faculty of education at Glasgow University, said everyone hoped Mr Glover could complete his trip.
"We supported him because what he is doing makes manifest our commitment to a global understanding of the different social and economic conditions under which people live, " he said.
Donations can be made online, at www. gla. ac. uk/ faculties/education/project/ buildingblocks/
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