India is home to the largest population of illiterate adults in the world – 287 million, which is 37% of the global total. 

47.78 % of kids out of school are girls. In the next census they will be calculated as illiterate women, which would then have a ripple effect on the education of their children.

Bright Sparks is a fantastic school that's trying to help change that, and it's entirely funded by the generosity of donations and fundraising. 

I met one of the UK trustees last year, and was moved by their passion and dedication to creating fundraising initiatives in the UK that have a huge impact on children's lives in India. 

The school currently offers lessons in Hindi, Punjabi, maths, general studies and English to 120 children from a Mohali slum. 

Chances are we'll never be able to eradicate child labour and poverty in the world, but we do know that we can make a big difference to the lives of the children who come to institutions like the Bright Sparks School.

Bright Sparks tackles it from the bottom-up, by offering children a free education together with support for their families so that they can simply grow-up and develop with a brighter future.

So, what better way to try and raise some cash for this excellent cause than me attempting a few marathons this year, starting with the Brighton Half! Any help you can give to this fantastic cause would be so appreciated by so many people.  

www.brightsparks.org

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.