Thank you for visiting my fundraising page and for your amazing support so far.

I'd like to thank all of you who have helped me march (or should I say sprint) almost to my 50% target. Your generosity and faith in me is extremely inspiring. I completed the run in 1hr 40 minutes and had several thousand people behind me. This sounds extraordinary however it has to be borne in mind that there were some tens of thousands in front of me!

It was an extraordinary day - red T-shirts as far as the eye could see and the streets of Addis lined with cheering supporters willing to cool us red faced 'ferengi' down by throwing water at us - very welcome it was too, as it was very hot after the first three kilometres!

I am a Trustee of SUNARMA (Sustainable Natural Resource Management), which is an organisation that works with rural Ethiopian communities to provide better food, better ways of producing food, and better land management to enable people to live better lives without impacting negatively on resources, such as the forests.

I am off to the project site this afternoon to investigate the full potential of what your money will be able to do - so will report back!

80% of the Nile's water comes from the Ethiopian highlands and forests, where SUNARMA works. If the forests disappear, the consequences for millions of people in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are considerable. With the average temperature in Africa set to rise by over 2 degrees Centigrade by 2030 (which means some of the hotter, drier places could rise over 4 degrees) any measures to preserve these 'sponges' for the Nile are vital.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: SUNARMA UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

SUNARMA are also raising money for much needed seedbanks and have another Justgiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/seedbank. In the light of the recent crises in the country, enabling communities to save seeds and store them safely is a crucial part of their survival.

So please sponsor me now and many, many thanks for your support.