We are Ruba and Will, and we're running this together.

Ruba:

"I am Palestinian. I am very lucky to be born to a family that is loving and was able to support me financially. I was lucky to have the best education, which allowed me to find my dream job. Palestinian children are not always as lucky as I am. Faced with death, trauma and systematic oppression, survival is not a given. Opportunities are scarce and dreams don't always come true. Ajyal supports those who need it most. That is why I'm running. I love running and have enjoyed it for years. It is wonderful to be able to share this with my husband (who is a bit slower than me!). Please support Ajyal as we embark on this challenge together."

Will:

"Before I met Ruba, the furthest I had run was four and a half miles at school. And that was as a punishment. The fact that I am even contemplating a half marathon feels like incipient insanity.  I feel very proud and lucky to be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for and awareness of the work of the Ajyal Foundation for Education. Ajyal enables high quality research-led Education for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with a focus on Palestinian and refugee communities. I was especially interested to see how part of their work involves music therapy for the children of Gaza. I know as well as anybody how critical music can be as an aid to academic and emotional development and how it builds social cohesion and unites communities, even in the most difficult of environments - and Gaza is most certainly that. I had such a lucky start in life through music and a first class education; I am running so that more children get that chance."

About Ajyal:

Education provided to Palestinian children and youth has been critically undermined due to decades of occupation, measures of control, recurring military attacks, settler violence, and weak national due processes.By the age of 15 nearly 25% of boys and 7% of girls drop out of school (UNCIEF, 2018). Only 52.7% of children aged 7-14 demonstrate foundational reading skills (UNICEF, 2021). 31% of high school students fail their GCSE equivalent exams (Palsawa, 2019). 90% of children living in Gaza have been diagnosed with PTSD since the military attack of May 2021 (EuroMedMonitor, 2021). All of Ajyal’s education projects help children R.I.S.E. creating an environment that is Respectful, Inclusive, Safe and Engaging. •£30 will provide 5 books to a school library•£45 will pay for an hour’s trainer's fee to train ~15 teachers •£150 will fund a university student community project•£500 will provide musical instruments to a kindergarten