Story
I'm 50 very soon, and have set myself a year of challenges. Rather than gifts, I'm appealing to reach a £500 goal in sponsorship for attempting the Hastings Half Marathon again, for a charity that I've followed for years and have the upmost respect for, especially for Giles the founder, a St Leonard's resident who founded the charity in 2017.
Giles set up Legacy of War Foundation as an international charity that provides support to civilians affected by conflict.
In 2011, Giles, a war photographer whilst on foot patrol with the US 75th Cavalry Regiment in Afghanistan, stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). He was severely injured, losing both legs and his left arm.
The charities mission is simple – to help individuals and communities rebuild their own lives after the trauma of war. They believe in providing the tools, training, education and other support – whether it be physical, psychological or economic – that enables those they work with to shape their own futures.
I was conflicted between supporting Legacy of War Foundation or trying to find a targeted aid relief charity that I felt I could trust getting aid into Gaza, which is on everybody's minds at the moment. So I consulted with Giles to see if he could advise. He said:
"Unfortunately there is nothing we can do in Gaza right now. I’ve spent a lot of time there and we have a good network of friends there (and I've lost many of them these past weeks) The reality is nobody can get supplies/aid into Gaza. So we will do projects there. For example we are looking to train Palestinian prosthetic technicians. But our projects tend to be long term sustainable projects and not emergency response"
This hit me at the heart; a viable long term solution rather than a knee jerk reaction throwing money into what is at present an unplugable hole.
Legacy of War Foundation also advocates for NO MORE WAR and strives to create awareness about war’s long-term effects on civilians through collaborative art and activism.
So, in terms of my efforts; some people make half marathons look easy, but for me it's a huge challenge. I did my first one last year and it was hard. But I'm going for it again and I've been training hard. But despite that I'm full of niggles and pain, and nervous doesn't come close.
But the motivation to run strong and run fast to help people that don't have the chances we do in life or the privilege to be able enough to set such challenges ... it is STRONG.
So even the smallest donation would motivate me on.