<p>On the third attempt in the ballot I finally have a place in the London Marathon. You might all think I am totally crazy but I am excited at the challenge. Please donate generously to help keep me going through the long hours of training this winter!!!</p> <p>After a lot of thought I have decided to raise money for PlanUK. I wanted to sponsor a country that was recently affected by war and also for the money to go to a specific project. All donations will go towards&nbsp;the building of a new Maternal Healthcare Centre in Sierra Leone. This is close to my heart as my sister is having a baby this year and it made me realise how lucky we are to have good healthcare facilities in this country.&nbsp;Sierra Leone however also has the highest rate of under-five mortality in the world - 232 per 1,000 births. The number of women who die in childbirth is also the highest, at 2,000 in every 100,000 .&nbsp;I also sponsor a lovely little boy in Sierra Leone which&nbsp;emerged from a decade of Civil War in 2002. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with over 75% of the population living on less than &pound;1 a day.&nbsp;</p> <p>If you would like to read more about this project please go to:&nbsp;<a style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" href="http://www.plan-uk.org/involved/projects/sierraleonehealthcare/">http://www.plan-uk.org/involved/projects/sierraleonehealthcare/</a>&nbsp;and here is clip about the devastating civil war:<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiqHKFMPhHw">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://tempuri.org/tempuri.html">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiqHKFMPhHw</a></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>