Story
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;">Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #ff0000;">UPDATED 20th January 2012</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;">On 21st November 2011 I travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the Cheadle Hulme-based charity Retrak and a number of colleagues to work with street children in that city. Amongst other things, we helped renovate a drop-in centre for the street children and worked with them to inspire them to be the best that they can be. The experience was awesome and humbling and we met some children who were a real inspiration and shining examples to us all. Their positive demeanour in the face of such adversity really put into perspective how much we take for granted. Coupled with this, the staff at Retrak are doing such a fantastic job and I was taken by their dedication and "can do" attitude.</span> Photographs will be posted shortly.</p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;">Retrak (<a href="http://www.retrak.org/">www.retrak.org</a>) is committed to inspiring street children -some as young as <strong>7 years old</strong>. I am blessed to be surrounded by loving family and friends and it is so difficult to ever imagine what life must be like for these children, with no family to </span><span style="color: #008000;">care for them and basically very little in the way of hope.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;">With the help of Retrak and its volunteers, the lives of many of the children have been and continue to be improved in different ways, e.g. by re-uniting them with their families, or </span><span style="color: #008000;">by providing shelter and emotional and educational support.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;">I was honoured and humbled to be chosen as one of the volunteers to go out to Ethiopia to help and </span><span style="color: #008000;">am very thankful for the support I’ve been shown by family, friends and colleagues so far. Each volunteer raised a minimum of £2000 that went directly to the work of Retrak and to the children<strong>. </strong>We were in the fortunate position to SEE exactly where YOUR donations went and I can say without hesitation that YOUR donations are being used to great effect.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;">Here is an idea of what your donations pay for; £3 buys a blanket; £5 pays for a medical consultation and treatment for a child; £14 pays for shelter for 2 months; £30 feeds a child for 2 months; £75 covers the cost of reuniting a child with their family.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;"><strong><span style="color: #3366ff;">Thank you to those of you who have visited this page and shared it with friends/contacts. Through your efforts I passed the minimum £2000 I promised to raise. PLEASE help me raise even more to help the street children of Ethiopia. Apart from numerous collections - usually with me dressed as Constable Cub - here's a flavour of some of the things I've done to raise money for RETRAK and the street children of Africa:</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>On 15/05/2011 I completed the BUPA Manchester 10K run dressed as a panda, Constable Cub. My time of 2:00:11 reflects the number of times I had to stop to have photos taken and the weight of the outfit! </strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>On 29/05/2011 I completed the Manchester-Liverpool Bike Ride. Two punctures, dodgy knee, and that loooong, steep hill 3 miles from the end nearly did me! </strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;"><strong><span style="color: #3366ff;"><span style="color: #008000;">On 10th July 2011 I completed the Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride. 61.5 miles of hard slog (for me anyway). Grateful to friends at the finish line who waited...and waited...and waited... Note to self: Get fit. Get a better bike. Mountain bikes are not ideal for road events. </span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>On 23rd July 2011 I organised and took part in a charity collection at Manchester Airport. WE as a team raised £660.47. Great effort. Thank you.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>Whilst in Addis Ababa I completed the Great Ethiopian (10K) Run, 8,000 feet above sea level, rarified air, a hard slog, but well worth it to see the smiles on the kids' faces.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #993366;"><strong>I am so grateful to all who have donated so far and enabled me to </strong><strong>pass my MINIMUM target of £2000</strong><strong>. Thank you. </strong></span></p>
<p><em><strong><span style="color: #00ff00;">Please help me to continue to provide much needed funds for the street children of Africa.</span></strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong><span style="color: #00ff00;">I will be continuing fundraising throughout 2012 and I</span></strong></em><span style="color: #00ff00;"><strong><em> am willing to do anything, provided it's legal and doesn't involve me breaking my marriage vows!</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #00ff00;"><strong><em>THANK YOU SO MUCH TO AMANDA MARKHAM WHO HAS A "SIGNIFICANT BIRTHDAY" COMING UP AND HAS ASKED FOR DONATIONS TO THIS PAGE IN LIEU OF PRESENTS.</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Please dig deep. It really is for a very good cause. Thank you so much. Terry</strong></span><span style="color: #008000;"> XXX <br></span></p>
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