Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As many of you know, I have recently got married to a lovely Sri Lankan girl. Her family came over from Sri Lanka in the 1970s and, although they planned to, never went home due to the horrendous fighting between the two communities there, which has only recently ceased.

They may not have gone back but they continue to have strong links with the country and still do what they can for their home community. An important element of this is their participation in the organisation of and fundraising for Oru Paanai (www.orupaanai.org.uk), a worthy charity started in 2008 and aimed at providing food and education for children in the North of the country, where conflict has done huge damage and left many poverty stricken and starving communities. Oru Paanai is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers with minimal overheads such that every pound donated finds its way to those the charity is supporting.

The charity is now actively supporting over 40,000 students in over 400 schools. They are able to do this with a few thousand pounds per month so a little bit really does go a long way in this area.

The desperate situation of the communities in this region has captured my imagination and I have been thinking for a long time about something that I can do to help raise even a small amount for Oru Paanai. As, like many, I have been slightly bitten by the cycling bug, I have decided to ride from London to Paris along with a small group of colleagues / friends. The route we are taking covers over 200 miles, which we aim to do in two days, the second of which being 130 miles (!) from Dieppe to Paris. I have to admit the second leg is already filling me with dread, hence training late into the evening (as shown by the picture above)!

I would be grateful for any donation you are willing to provide; even small amounts go far in providing food in this region. Thank you.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.