37 members of the University of Bristol Men's Hockey Club (UBMHC) are setting out to run an equivalent distance of #Bristol2Bermuda (5380Km) over 30 days (from 22nd April), with some members pledging to run as much as 10km per day for an entire month in order to reach their GOAL!

We are undertaking this challenge to join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that is threatening food security in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. 

As a sports club, we appreciate the transformative role that sport can play in people's lives. And so, together, we have chosen to run for iPartner India - a charity that runs an inspiring football program called Roshni Youth Group, which brings about positive change in the lives of young vulnerable girls residing in an urban slum in Kolkata, India.

Roshni Youth Group aims at breaking the gender stereotypes and improving the leadership skills of young girls from very poor disadvantaged minority communities through football. The project is being implemented in a very poor slum in a conservative and male-dominated community. Mobilizing young girls from the community to come out of their homes and train to play football has been a huge challenge, but iPartner India has been successful in training 40 girls to play football. 16 of these girls are at an advanced skill level and are playing at tournament level. 

These young football players and their parents are affected by the current lockdown as they fall outside the state support programme, with no regular source of income as most of them are daily wage labourers. The community is in a dire situation as they risk starvation and loss of livelihood in the immediate aftermath of the lockdown. 

These girls may not be able to keep up their passion and motivation for sports amid these challenges when food will become the utmost priority for the family.  The girls will now need to get involved in daily wage earnings for their parents to bring their lives back to normal after the lockdown is lifted. Some of these girls may be forced to drop out of school or get married at a young age to support their already desperate families. 

It’s important to support these families to meet their immediate need for food and also to ensure a brighter future for these girls so that they continue their passion to play!

Together we will #Run4Roshni to meet the immediate need for food for these girls and their families. 

No donation is too small and will be greatly appreciated as the global pandemic threatens to push this vulnerable community further into poverty and desperation.