Dear Friends,

As many of you already know Shared Interest Foundation does some amazing work in order to help people in the developing world work their way out of poverty.  This work, whether it be a small grant to pay for an organisation to attend a trade fair or an intensive three year training course, changes poeples lives. It empowers them to break out of the poverty cycle. I would like to share one such story with you. Rachel is a lady I met whilst out in Rwanda in January this year.

Rachel is an 18-year-old who takes care of her 15-year-old sister and 12-year-old brother. She was just 4 when her dad died from stomach ulcers and only 11 when her mum died from AIDS. Her aunt eventually took them in but was too burdened by having three mouths to feed. She made life very difficult for Rachel including making her get up at 4 in the morning to do a heavy workload of chores. This led to many school absences and a lack of time to complete homework. She went from the top of her class to the bottom in just a year. Rachel and her two siblings soon moved back to the mud house they had lived in with their mother. By the time she had died, her mum had sold everything to buy food for them, The children were left to sleep on the floor of a completely empty mud house, wear tattered clothes, and when they did find food, it was a very poor diet.

Since Rachel started working for a fair trade craft business she has been able to do many things. She is now able to pay the yearly health care fee in case her brother and sister fall ill and need to see a doctor. She has purchased furniture for her home as well as new mattresses for them to sleep on. Her brothers and sisters are both eating well and wearing better clothes. The joy and dignity that come with providing for everyone's needs is a new experience for Rachel.

We would love to help more poeple like Rachel achieve their true potential, however this can only be achieved with your help and this is where the swimming come into it.

I will be running, yes you heard right, running 10k to rasie money for the Foundation and would be extremely grateful if you are either able to join me on the run and raise money for the Foundation too, or if you would be kind enough to make a donation, no matter how small it all makes a difference.

Thanking you in advance for your support,

 

Andrea x

 

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