Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. [PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THIS CONTENT MAY BE TRIGGERING, ESPECIALLY FOR ANYONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS TRANSGENDER].

Although not known for my Usain Bolt-like abilities, i am delighted to be able to do this small thing in support of Mermaids, who make such a difference to so many lives on a daily basis. Unfortunately, their staff continue to face abhorrent abuse from a barrage of anti-trans people. Even in 2023, there are people and organisations out there who believe that the T in LGBTQ+ doesn't matter. In fact, many still believe that the "T" never has, does not and will never exist.

Trans people are people. It's not a passing trend, or a recent construct - they've existed since the beginning of humankind, and it's high time they received the recognition and rights they whole-heartedly deserve. Currently, the UK is in a socio-political storm about trans rights, and continue to regress dangerously to creating an environment where trans people live in fear that is only comparable to some of the most dangerous places in the world.

However, many would argue this dystopia already exists. The recent news about Brianna Ghey, and the ignorance about the link between her trans identity and death, only adds fuel to the fire around the lack of action and urgency the government has around protecting trans youth.

Supporting charities like Mermaids supports them to continue to educate and inform wider society on gender identity by helping professionals accommodate and reassure gender-diverse young people, so, please donate!

Also, Trans Day of Visibility is on 31st of March... great timing!

To finish - for every 5 seconds I run less than 50 minutes, I will donate £1 to Mermaid out of my own pocket (my last run on 25th of February was 48:42!). I don't use Strava unfortunately but I will post my runs from Runkeeper on this page!

Dilraj