This year I am running the Canterbury Half Marathon (27 Aug), the Crete Half Marathon (Oct 7) and Athens Marathon (11 Nov) and instead of the usual charity fundraising, i am asking everyone to help me raise money for the victims of the Attica wildfires of July 2018, which decimated the communities of Mati and Rafina. The deadliest post-war fire in Europe and 2nd deadliest globally of 21st century, it left 92 people confirmed dead, and 25 others still missing. Harrowing stories of more than 26 charred bodies found embracing each other, trapped in a field and unable to escape, victims as young as a 6 month-old baby are parts of this humanitarian disaster.

Heated debates on what went wrong continue. But in the meanwhile not much is left for many of the survivors, who now need to rebuild their lives as they come to terms with their human and material loss. All this, in a country already tested by a prolonged economic crisis and unprecedented refugee flows to cope with.

This is why many of us are fundraising and trying to help surviving victims rebuild their lives. All funds collected will go to the local authority account and a receipt will be published on this page.

In times like these, human solidarity is what those in need rely on. No amount is too small so please help us #helpMati