Hello and thanks for visiting!

When I came seventh from last in my school cross-country championships, out of a year group of about 100, I pretty much wrote myself off for life athletics-wise. Today, though, I ran the Bristol half-marathon in 2:08, which I never thought would have been possible! 

I ran for Children’s HIV Association (CHIVA). This summer, I volunteered as a key worker at ‘Freedom to Be’, CHIVA’s annual support camp for 100 young people aged 13-17 who are living with HIV. Camp brings young people from across the UK and Ireland, including the most isolated, together for four days. Anyone fortunate enough to spend time at camp can see how valuable it is – this year 160 individuals applied for 100 camp places.

In the UK and Ireland, over 1,000 children and young people have HIV, and they experience a range of issues: stigma, secrecy, adherence to strict treatment regimes, and other challenges such as poverty, caring responsibilities, bereavement, family migration and separation, and mental health difficulties. You can check out this video about camp or hear more about life with HIV in young people's own words here. 

I want to raise money for young people from across the UK and Ireland, for the good stuff! The fun times: water fights between fifty of them on a hot summer afternoon, baking competitions, and flirting without HIV being an issue. The light bulb moments, when some aspect of their health they never understood before suddenly makes sense because it’s easier to talk about in a relaxed session with your peers than a clinic appointment. The amazingly creative and compassionate ways that they express what they’ve experienced, and the periods of much-needed freedom to be themselves they get from being together, which they sometimes describe as being like finding another home or family.

I am aiming to raise £1,000, because this covers the cost of one young person’s place at ‘Freedom to Be’. £1,000 pays for:

• Fundraising, planning, coordination and post-camp follow-up from a small team of possibly superhuman staff

• Transport, accommodation and food for campers, staff and volunteers

• Training and support for venue staff and a large number of volunteers, which includes HIV nurses and professionals and a team of 18-24 year old camp leaders who are also HIV-positive, and who themselves benefit from spending time together at camp, as well as getting accredited training

• Workshops to educate and empower young people to live well with HIV

• Sports and outward bound activities such as bushcraft, climbing, archery and basketball

• Relaxation and complementary therapies such as yoga and massage

• Creative activities including dance, drama, singing, rap, performance poetry, arts and crafts, film and journalism

• A big party.

Please support me to help send a young person to camp in 2014! 

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