Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

For the last few years, through Plan, we have sponsored a littlegirl called Saliyatou who lives in Niger. Saliyatou was born in the same yearas my daughter and is now 8.. 

During the time we have sponsored Saliyatou, Plan has undertaken a number of projects in the area where she lives includingactivities to raise awareness of the importance of education and children's rights, provision ofseeds to local farmers, training for teenagers on reproductive health, support for emergency water andsanitation needs in disaster situations, working with the local authorities tosupport birth registration, provision of furniture and equipment for theschools and construction of a well.

From the work that Plan does it is clear that children are atthe centre of everything it does – whether that’s ensuring they get safe water,nutritious food and the medical care they need to grow up healthily, or theeducation and opportunities that could lift them out of poverty.

It has been a pleasure to receive letters from Saliyatou andhear how she and her family are doing and how she is thriving at school andenjoying playing with her friends.

So I will be pounding the streets of London on 24^thApril 2016 in my first marathon and I hope to raise as much as possible betweennow and then so Plan can continue to support children like Saliyatou.

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.