Salaam, hello and welcome to my fundraising page.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to visit my Justgiving page

Let me begin by describing a little about what I aim to do...

Being brought up London, I’ve always wanted to run the London Marathon, to join the many thousands of people who run it each year, raising much needed funds for their favourite charities. I couldn’t think of a better way to get fit and see the famous sights of London at the same time

It can be easy to take for granted the city we live in, however, I believe London is one of the most exciting, vibrant and cosmopolitan cities to live in anywhere around the world. The London Marathon typifies the spirit, energy and sense of community which we should all appreciate. I was fortunate enough to secure a place in the 2009 Flora London Marathon, providing me with the challenge of taking part in my first ever marathon, and raising money for my chosen charity.

Like most people of my generation, I’m sure we all remember the many natural disasters and man-made tragedies which have compelled us to do something to help, no matter how little or inconsequential our contribution may seem. As a nation, we should be proud of the way in which public opinion rallies our spirits. I’m sure we all remember the horrific scenes of Michael Burke’s BBC news story, highlighting the scale of the 1984 Ethiopian famine and the subsequent outpouring of public opinion, which eventually led to the world famous World Aid and Band Aid campaigns by Bob Geldoff. I still recall arranging fund raising events in my primary school to support those appeals!

In response to these events, many British Muslims coordinated efforts to organize and establish charities to provide immediate disaster relief, in addition to long term development initiatives.

It is in this vain that Muslim Aid was founded in the mid-1980’s by 23 community based organisations, coordinated and headed by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). The organisation’s current Chairman is Sir Iqbal Sacranie CBE, including trustee Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, the current Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Since its establishment, Muslim Aid has been working for over 20 years to help save and improve the lives of millions in over 70 of the world’s most poorest countries. The relief organisation now has a presence spanning most of the world, including parts of South America, Africa, Europe, Central Asia andSouth East Asia.

Muslim Aid’s mission is to provide immediate emergency relief, in addition to sustainable development programmes aimed at tackling the root causes of poverty. Muslim Aid is different to other relief agencies, in that whilst many relief agencies will leave after providing initial emergency aid, Muslim Aid stays to provide further development and sustainable projects.

Intrinsic to its mission is to provide individuals with the resources and skills required to solve the problems confronting their own communities. This includes Muslim Aid’s Rainbow Family orphan sponsorship scheme, started in response to help thousands of children suffering from the aftermaths in war torn countries.

Please visit Muslim Aid’s website to find out further details of the wonderful work they do (http://www.muslimaid.org/index.php/media-centre/8-news/235-adil-bahar-runs-for-muslim-aid-in-the-flora-london-marathon).

This is where YOU can help!

Please do give as much as you can as every penny donated will go towards providing the basic essentials to save lives around the world, in addition to supporting sustainable development for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. Muslim Aid is currently engaged in urgent campaigns in Palestine/Gaza, Myanmar (Burma), India, Darfur (Sudan) and Iraq.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Muslim Aid gets your money faster and, if you’re ataxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

To keep a track of my marathon training progress, provide feedback on my cause and any helpful suggestions you may have for my training, please visit my London Marathon Blog (http://adilslondonmarathonblog.blogspot.com/).

I would like to thank Emerald Network (http://www.emeraldnetwork.co.uk) for all the support and advice in getting my cause of the ground, I will also be representing Emerald Network during the 2009 London Marathon.

Once again, thank you for visiting my page and for any donation you can make, both me and Muslim Aid are extremely grateful.