Thanks for taking the time to visit the JustGiving page of Six Half Marathon Holland!

Have you seen "Saving Africa's Witch Children"? It is a documentary about the suffering, abuse and social exclusion of children in Africa who are denounced as witches. Many are physically attacked, ostracized by their families and even murdered. Shockingly, Christian pastors - who believe the children are possessed by the devil - are responsible for much of this treatment. The documentary features a charity called Stepping Stones, which aims to help these children, give them a safe haven and reunite them with their families and villages. Sadly, that is not always possible. Local traditions and culture mean that many people strongly believe that witches exist.

As Gary Foxcroft the founder of Stepping Stones states “Recent cases of children dying after having had acid poured over them or simply found dead at the side of the road after being labelled as 'witches' highlight the fact that there is still a great deal of work to be done. However, I now remain convinced that, with continued support from the Government, media and donors, we can overcome this monumental challenge and eradicate this horrific practice in the next 5 to 10 years”.

After watching this documentary, we have been so touched by this sad story that we have decided to collect money for "Stepping Stones Nigeria" to help them raise awareness and improve the lives of the many children affected.

Individual members of team sixhalfmarathonholland will be running some or all of the following races in 2010 in order to raise as much as possible for the cause. We will be running Den Haag CPC 21.1km (March) , Uterecht 21.1km, (April), Leiden 21.1km (May), Harlemmemeer 21.1km (September), Dam2Dam (September) , Utrecht Singel-loop (September) and finally Amsterdam 21.1km or 42km (October).. We will post our times and a picture of proof of finish for all the races on our facebook group "Sixhalfmarathonholland" !!

All of the money raised on the sponsored runs will contribute something to improve the future for these innocent children.  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  (UK taxpayers only). So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Carla,Chris,Menno, Sido, Bart & Dave