For the final good deed of my twenties, I'll be running the Royal Parks Virtual Half Marathon to raise money for CAFOD's 2021 Lent campaign, Walk for Water. 

Access to water and sanitation are recognised as human rights (fun fact: they were only recognised as a human right in 2010, while the Declaration of Human Rights was first published in 1948). 

Here's a case study:

"Abdella is 23 and lives in Afar, Ethopia - one of the hottest places on earth. Like hundred of people in the area, he spends most of every day getting water for his family. Since he was 10 or 11 years old, he has made the five-hour round trip twice a day so that everyone has enough to wash with and to drink. With a water point nearer his home, Abdella's family would no longer have to worry about getting enough to stay alive, and he could start on the dreams he has for the rest of his life."

I don't particularly enjoy running and having asthma makes distance difficult, but these are pitifully minor complaints in the grand scheme of the world. If you consider the impact that taking hours out of each day to get water has on someone's life - physically, mentally, spiritually, and in terms of education and getting employment - a 13-mile run is absolutely nothing, but I do hope that some good can come of this fund- and awareness-raising. 

£33 can provide water for a family. 

£40 can bring safe drinking water to a hard-to-reach school.

£66 can buy a bike for a water engineer to travel to a remote community's water pump.

£750 can bring water to an entire community. 

I appreciate that this is a difficult time for a lot of folks, so any donations or well-wishes are much appreciated. Also, just taking a minute out of each day to give thanks for simple things like having running water and flushing toilets does wonders for the old noggin'. 

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CAFOD works with local partners and communities across the world - responding to emergencies, promoting long-term development and raising public awareness of the causes of poverty. We work with people of all faiths and none for a safe, sustainable and peaceful world.