John, Paddy & Bob are three members of the 15-strong Oasis UK Marathon Team all of whom have pledged to raise a minimum £1,500 each to support the charity work of Oasis .
John Murphy said: “I love running and I try and run at least 4 times a week. It helps me relax and unwind as well as keeping me fit. I have run marathons before but I was a lot younger then and didn’t have two Academies to look after! It’s quite tough making sure I put in the miles each week. I’ve never run the London Marathon before and am really looking forward to it.”
Students and staff at Oasis Academy Shirley Park and Oasis Academy Coulsdon are helping to raise funds. The money raised will help Oasis projects both in the UK and around the world. The charity works in eleven countries world-wide supporting some of the most marginalised and poorest communities. Trafficking, children, education, health, women and church are some of the areas in which Oasis work and John, Paddy & Bob will be pounding the pavements to help raise as much money as they can.
Paddy said: “However much we train, we will inevitably ‘hit the wall’ and go through a lot of pain during our marathon run. Our pain will ease after a few hours and is nothing compared to the pain children, men and women suffer daily across the globe: their pain goes on and on and on.”
“Please help if you can – your donation, however small, will make a huge difference to someone’s life.” Said John Murphy.
Stop the Traffik:
Henna’s Story:
12-year-old Hema is one of 5 children from a remote village in North Karnataka, . Hema had never been to school as she was responsible for housework and caring for her younger siblings. Her parents were both agricultural labourers and money was hard to come by as a drought had destroyed their crop. Food was scarce and survival was a big question until a kind gentleman from the city visited with the promise of well-paid jobs.
Hema was one of 6 girls bundled away to to work. Her parents were paid a small sum of money as immediate compensation with the promise of more to come. On reaching there was no job for Hema and like many girls before her, Hema was forced into the sex trade.
Oasis partners with the Bangalore Police Department to trace missing children like Hema, and seeks to prevent more girls having to face the trauma that she faced.
It is estimated that at least two million children, women and men are trafficked into prostitution, forced labour and begging each year. Stop The Traffik raises awareness, educates, advocates, raises money and inspires new projects globally to help to change the situation
Children at Risk
Across the world, Oasis is working with street children, slum children, children with HIV/AIDS, children that have been orphaned, children of prostitutes and children who have been trafficked.
Education
Poverty has many guises. Most obvious is economic poverty, where people don’t have the basic resources to live. Just as devastating though is poverty of choice, where people are unable to change their situation because no other options are available.
Education can change that - whether it is becoming literate, accessing regular schooling or learning to use a computer - that is why it is a key part of what we do in providing options for those who have none. Jasper’s Story
Jasper ran a tuck shop and a small bakery business in but his income was not sufficient to support his family. Oasis provided him with a small loan to help him rent an oven and buy ingredients to expand his business. Jasper also attended a security guard course and the entrepreneur course at . He began to work as a part-time security guard as he developed his bakery business.
Now Jasper’s bakery is thriving. He has bought a car and can support his family as a result of its success.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’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’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
