In August 2017 our family had the opportunity to take an amazing trip to central America with our two kids in tow. We spent nearly a month travelling around Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, and although it was challengjng at times we had an incredible experience.

Whilst we were away we wanted to give the kids the opportunity to meet local children and families and see how they lived, and we came across an organisation called Ninos de Guatemala, based in Antigua, one of the places we were planning to visit.

Ninos de Guatemala run two primary schools and a secondary school which allow over 500 children from impoverished families the opportunity for an education that would otherwise not be available to them. Their aim is to break the cycle of poverty through education. With our youngest starting school this year it was particularly close to home to think of the opportunities in life that these children would otherwise miss out on - and in turn, that their own children would miss Too.

Ninos de Guatemala is self funding through tourist activity as well as fundraising, and it was thanks to one of the trips that they offer to tourists that we were able to visit one of their primary schools and learn more about what they do in their local communities. They also offer a programme where individuals and groups can sponsor a child through their education. It costs €420 per year to fund a child in one of their primary schools, and having seen the work they do first hand we agreed between us that we would love to be able to support them in this way.

We wanted to find a way to raise the funds to pay for a child's education for the full year, so it felt appropriate to set a challenge that lasted across the year as well, rather than being a one off. So with that in mind the plan is to run 420km in 12 months - 1km for every Euro needed!

For some of my friends that won't seem very far over a year (!), but given my historical inability to stick with running for more than a few months it will hopefully give me the incentive to keep going, even when the Mancunian weather is doing its hardest to put me off. It'll primaily be me undertaking this challenge, but the kids will be joining me on occasion too, and who knows, I might even get Richard out at some point (he doesn't know this yet of course..!).

We'd really value each and any pound you can spare - justgiving won't let me collect in Euro's so we've set the target in pounds and any excess funds will be used to help stock the decidedly bare looking library in the primary school. Of course we'd love to raise more - our stretch target woild be to raise enough to fund a second child's education!

I'll post updates on the distance we've run on here, and as soon as we're able to start sponsoring a student I'll also post any updates we receive on their progress as well, so that you can all see the difference the money raised is making.

Thank you in advance!