Story
In the first week of March I will be celebrating my birthday, not with a cake, a party and lots of friends, but running . . . or walking . . . 250 km across the Atacama Desert, the driest desert on Earth. I am competing in the Atacama Crossing 2013, a seven day endurance race where I will be completing a marathon a day while carrying all my own food, clothes and emergency kit.
Why, you may well ask, forego the creature comforts of Singapore and travel halfway round the world for the desolate, dusty expanse of the desert? For the awesome emptiness, the stunning silence and the incredible scenery, because there is a touch of the lunatic in me, and also to raise money for a fantastic charity, the Seed International Fund Trust, SIFT.
SIFT is a small charity that is making a big impact in the lives of some of the poorest people in Nicaragua. SIFT focuses on healthcare, nutrition, education and housing. Projects include providing high-vitamin milk to children, running local medical clinics, working with farmers to grow more nutritious crops, and training young people to repair cars which is a really useful skill where the roads are pot-hole ridden mud tracks!
Every day the people SIFT work with contend with physical hardships and limited resources, I have to survive just a week of my own trials and tribulations.
My target is to raise £2,500, that’s £10 for every kilometre of the race and for every blister I get between now and the end of the race!! How will this money be used?
£10 will pay for one person to see the doctor at one of SIFT's clinics and receive any required medicine
£20 will enable three children to receive medicine to treat the most common diseases affecting children on Ometepe
£50 will pay the wages of three qualified nurses for a week
£100 will pay for SIFT's medical work for a day
You can find out more about SIFT and its work at www.seed-trust.com
You can find out more about the Atacama Crossing at www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Thank you for your generosity and encouragement.