Greetings!

After years of cancelled gym memberships, a lifelong and intense hatred for cardio and in particular a specific aversion to running in a non life-threatening situation, I have logically decided to run the London Marathon on 28 April 2019. What a strange notion, you may be thinking. Well, this is where I tell you about the amazing cause that I am doing it for: The Gorilla Organization, a charity that works to protect gorillas from poachers, safeguard their forest home and importantly helps local people conserve the environment, primarily in communities in Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo.

I started training in December 2018 and after 5 months of training we are now in London Marathon Week!

Here is a bit about the admirable work that this wonderful charity does:

Children for Sustainable Conservation: educating children who live in communities with gorillas about conservation to create forest-friendly farmers, conservationists, artists and eco-tour operators of the future;

- 1,135 children directly benefited from this project
- Innovative pedal-powered cinemas visited four schools
- Six fruit trees were planted in schools
- Six schools took excursions to learn about the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Empowering Women and Girls: initiatives which support women in farming, education and solar power skills training:

- Sending more women to The Barefoot College to become Solar Sisters
- Supplying equipment to electrify remote communities through solar power
- Providing extra educational classes which are very popular with young girls
- Reducing reliance on dangerous and expensive kerosene lanterns
- Funding sustainable farming training

Supporting Indigenous Communities for example people living in Virunga National Park in DR Congo, some of the poorest communities in Africa.

- More than 1,000 people in eight of these communities now have reliable food
- 500 children have attended school
- Two more plots of land were purchased to increase harvest
- 53 bags of potatoes were harvested in one year
- The harvest helped the community to buy 3 goats and five chickens

Your donations no matter how small are so gratefully received!

Love Rachel xx