Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Following my last attempt at a marathon I promised not to do more than 10k again. However, I cannot resist helping ORBIS as it is such a good charity and of course linked to Aviation. Last year Fedex donated an MD10 and once again an ORBIS aircraft will be travelling around the globe helping to restore sight.

Every penny I raise will go towards ORBIS’s sightsaving work, such as ORBIS’s programme in southern Ethiopia working to eliminate the blinding eye condition, trachoma. Trachoma is a highly infectious and agonising eye disease that has been wiped out in the western world, but in countries like Ethiopia it continues to bring misery, pain, blindness and poverty.

Yet trachoma is both easy to treat and prevent. With effective treatment someone’s suffering could actually be over very quickly. Their sight could be saved and their life transformed. ORBIS has adopted the World Health Organisation’s SAFE strategy which involves corrective Surgery, to reverse the effects of trachoma (in-turned eye lids which result in eye lashes scraping on the surface of the eye); distributing Antibiotics to prevent infection and spread of the illness; raising awareness of Facial cleanliness to prevent the bacteria which causes infection; and improving the surrounding Environment through improving access to clean water and sanitation.

In countries where even healthy people struggle to provide for their own needs, blind and visually impaired people suffer extreme poverty. The measures to control trachoma are extremely cost effective.

- £50 can distribute a dose of the antibiotic, Zithromax, to 200 adults and children

- £100 pays for 10 people to have sight saving surgery

I would greatly appreciate any donation towards this challenge and the work that ORBIS is doing to preserve and restore the sight of some of the poorest people in the poorest communities across the world. Thank you so much for your support and sharing ORBIS’s vision – it is truly appreciated.

Don’t forget to Gift Aid your sponsorship if you are a UK taxpayer!

As an extra incentive, those donating/ sponsoring Ian’s Marathon challenge will be entered into the draw to win a pair of Jet2.com flights to one of Jet2.com’s exciting new destinations for 2012. Unfortunately members of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays staff and their family will not be eligible for entry into the draw.

Thanks!!

Ian