Hi,

Thanks for visiting our JustGiving page! 

Last August, my fiancé, Dan, and I succeeded in reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, via the Machame route. Climbing Kilimanjaro was a tremendous challenge for us both and one that proved to be hugely rewarding and fulfilling.  We are extremely grateful for all of the support we received  in the form of kind words of encouragement (which got us through many an hour of mountainside distress!) and the very generous donations to Street Child Africa.

Having ticked climbing Kilimanjaro off the list, I set myself the next challenge of running the 2010 London Marathon. Given that running is a relatively new pastime and that my training regime has been persistently hampered by injuries this is going to be a rather testing challenge, however one that I will embrace whole-heartedly!

I am running for a very good cause; Street Child Africa (www.streetchildafrica.org.uk) is the leading UK charity devoted to helping street children across Africa.  'Street' children have been given this anonymous label because the 'street' is where they live their lives out: eating, sleeping, working and hustling. The street is their home and poses a daily struggle.

Street Child Africa (SCA) works in, amongst others, three countries bordering Tanzania - Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique.

The charity helps little girls like Mariama in Mozambique (Click on photos above - pictured left, holding her brother).  When she was found, she was making her living on the pickings of a rubbish dump.  At the age of 8, having lost both her parents, Mariama was the sole carer for 3 younger siblings - a 5 year old boy, a 3 year old and a baby.  After finding her, representatives of SCA worked with Mariama and her siblings to find ways of keeping the children together.  Now, they are safe and well, and still have each other and a carer.

Please take a moment to click on the attached link to see how SCA helps street children: http://www.streetchildafrica.org.uk/site//about-us/what_we_do.php.  

Please give generously.  Even a small donation will have a massive impact on a street child’s life.  For example:
£10 will buy a school uniform and shoes enabling a street child to attend a government school in Nigeria.
£10 will care for a new street baby and mother for a week in a crèche in the slums of Accra, Ghana.
£30 will support a street child in school in Harare, Zimbabwe for one year.

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.

We would really appreciate your support to help us reach and if possible exceed our target of £5000, money which really will help to improve the lives of children who lack what we view as the bare necessities, including the chance of a life away from the street.

Thank you very much, Jo and Dan