We are Anna and Fi and a few months ago over a glass of wine or two, we made the ridiculous decision to… WALK TWO MARATHONS ACROSS THE SAHARA. 

I’m Anna. I’m not one of life’s naturally sporty people, in fact, given the choice, I would unquestionably choose PJs and a glass of Merlot over trainers and a protein shake. But when Fi suggested the Sahara challenge and the charity, SIBs, we could raise money for, I thought why not? 

Well, there’s a million reasons why not. Walking 26 miles TWICE across the desert for one. 

But there’s also one brilliant reason why.

SIBS is the most extraordinary charity, it exists to support people who grow up with or have grown up with a disabled brother or sister. It is the only UK charity representing the needs of over half a million young siblings and over one and a half million adult siblings.

I’m Fiona. It is incredibly challenging having a disabled child - what you might have imagined for the family has to be adapted and changed in some fairly drastic ways. The future is uncertain, and to be quite frank it can be a scary and lonely place to be. 

But it’s not just the parents that face struggles. As the sibling of a disabled child, they will face their own set of struggles, anxieties and fears. Stella and Jude's twin brother, Arthur have already expressed some of these, concerns for Jude’s future, and also for their own. Sadly, Stephen and I don’t always have the answers. 

As a family we try to keep life as normal as possible, however they are aware there are things we cannot do as Jude becomes older and mobility and access becomes harder. As the parent I cannot compare my experiences to theirs as siblings. This is where SIBS comes in. The school they attend is one of the only schools in Sussex where SIBS operates. Every week they get to spend an hour with other pupils who have disabled siblings. The opportunity to know they are not alone is invaluable. They can talk about their feelings and frustrations, and it always involves doing a fun activity (and apparently having a Kit Kat!)

Children and young people growing up with a disabled brother or sister often get less attention from parents and have more worries and responsibilities than their peers. Many young siblings experience daily challenges in their lives such as public prejudice and finding it hard to get schoolwork done. They also need recognition for the positive aspects of their family lives, such as learning new skills and being supportive of their brothers’ and sisters’ needs.

The Sahara Ultra is a massive challenge for us both. We’ve already started 5.30am training walks, getting back in time for the school run. We also have some epic 60k walks planned- these are distances that, pre-signing up to this challenge, we’d think twice about driving, and now we’re walking! We will keep you updated on our progress if you’re interested. 

Please help us raise money for SIBS by giving whatever you can to support us as we train to walk 54 miles across the desert.