In November of last year, we travelled to Uttarakhand in Northern India to volunteer for 2 weeks with ARPAN (Association for Rural Planning and Action). ARPAN is a tiny charity, founded 25 years ago, who work with children and women in the Uttarakhand state and across the country.

They are a grass roots organisation, offering local communities hands on, practical support, whilst also campaigning for long term change. They receive very little funding and are constantly applying for government funding and justifying the funds they currently receive.

We are running the Hackney Half Marathon on Sunday 20th May to raise money for an organisation that receives very little recognition and are doing amazing work everyday on next to nothing. Any donations you can give will be hugely appreciated by us and ARPAN and will have a direct impact on children and women's lives in Uttarakhand.

ARPAN's work includes:

- Creating a Child Line service for children across India to call free of charge and receive advice and counselling

- Setting up women’s groups in local villages to allow women in the community to create their own sustainable support networks

- Empowering and educating women on the value of their domestic and farming work. Teaching them effective farming techniques and supporting them in monetising their work and gaining more independence

- Supporting women and children living with Domestic Abuse, providing a safe house when needed, offering counselling, supporting women if they choose to leave their abuser

- Fighting against child and forced marriages, educating communities on the issues and lobbying local authorities to stop illegal marriages