Hello, welcome and thank you for visiting our JustGiving page!

As some of you know, and the rest of you are about to find out, me (Jen) and my mum (Tracey) are going to be taking part in London’s Music Half-Marathon, “Run to the Beat” on September 25^th 2011. We are training hard and practising our poses for when we cross the 13.1 mile finish line at the O2 in London.

Our decision to run a Half-Marathon has (unsurprisingly) caused some shock and disbelief. It is true that we are not athletes; but we are, however, extremely passionate about challenging ourselves in order to gain support for a charity that changes the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children.

“AfriKids” is a Child Rights organisation working to improve life for the most disadvantaged and defenceless children in Ghana. Ghana is a stable constitutional democracy and its elected government is taking every difficult step forward to secure the country's future. Yet it is in Ghana where a generation is growing up within reaching distance of their dream of self-sufficiency, stability and sustainable development.

It is for this generation that “AfriKids” needs your support, especially now when they are so close to pulling themselves up from their reliance on economic assistance from outside. Right now, just as you read and learn about the promise the country holds, so do the next generation of Ghanaians. The story that you read with them is one of hope and optimism. “AfriKids” works with the local community in northern Ghana to nurture and support the children who are on the fringes of the country's development, providing food, shelter, education and medical relief where it is needed most.

Too often, people’s perception of Africa is of a continent without hope. In fact, for many people Africa stands for destitution, despair and catastrophe. “Afrikids” works to make visible, sustainable progress and so rather than spreading their work across an entire continent or focusing on a single ‘headline’ issue, they have invested time and resources in making real and fundamental change to the society and economy of one region: Ghana. By doing this “AfriKids” has uncovered the extraordinary passion and ability of the local people there and is achieving something unique; genuine sustainability.

None of this work, however, would be possible without the support of the general public and that’s why we need your help. Please show your support and sponsor me and my mum to run to the beat. By doing so you will be helping to make a difference to those children that need your help the most.  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 by a UK taxpayer. 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!

Lots of love,

Jen and Tracey