On 20th March 2022, I will be running the Marathon de Sables, a 6 day, 251km ultra-marathon across the Sahara Desert, in support of Christel House South Africa.

Christel House educates children from the poorest communities around the world and has transformed thousands of lives.

Its Cape Town school takes on children as young as 5 years old, living in townships, and enables them to realise their full potential.

 Working for 2 months as an Assistant Teacher, I saw first-hand the quality education and real impact that Christel House provides. The charity goes above and beyond education, providing a holistic model to ensure children have access to food, healthcare and social services. A dedicated careers programme also provides access to universities, apprenticeships and jobs.

 The results are staggering:

• It costs only £4,659 per year to progress a child to university

• 42% attend higher education after leaving Christel House, 3 times higher than its country peers.

• By 23, over 75% of students earn more than their entire household income.  

 In June 2020, Christel House’s visionary founder Christel DeHaan passed away. The need for funding to support Christel House’s students has never been greater.

 My aim is to raise £46,590.

 This is enough to fund 10 students through school and to university, enabling them to bring learnings back to their local communities and generating real social progression.

100% of donations support programmes and services for students.

The entire race will take place on the Sahara Desert’s sand dunes, with temperatures of up to 57°C. Runners carrying all their belongings (roughly 10kg), including food, water and essential supplies, and camp at race checkpoints.  

 I will be tracking my training through Strava and posting updates from the charity in the lead up to the race so that you can see the amazing impact your donations will have.

 This is a cause very close to my heart and any contributions, large or small, would be hugely appreciated!