For all too many children in countless developing countries, this is a reality. Children and adults with an un-repaired cleft condition live with unimaginable emotional and physical suffering; yet a surgery can take as few as 45 minutes to complete. - since 1982 they have provided over 240,000 free surgeries to those born with a cleft lip or cleft palate and each year we treat over 16,000 people. With more than three decades of expertise, Operation Smile creates solutions that deliver free surgery to people where it’s needed most.

Of course there are many other charities worthy of support and many of us get asked to sponsor individuals to take part in their own personal sporting test.  This one is in that respect no different other than that we have tried to set ourselves a difficult to achieve challenge.  I will join a team of eight gusy with no serious cycling experience but have set ourselves the goal to complete the 100miles (161km) ride in five hours and 15 minutes or 20mi/hr (32km/hr).  We will have to put in a lot of training hours as individuals and as a team to manage this time.

Finally, the reason why I support OperationSmile is because it can transform the lives of children into their adulthood.  For years I have supported children's charities because I believe strongly that children need us as adults to give them the best start in life we can.  This charity does that and thus have my support.