Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As many of you know I have been the educational trustee for Futurestars Charity for a few years now. This continues to be a privilege and an honour in so many ways. Not least as it gives me the chance to surround myself with inspiring people, keen to make a difference to the lives of young people in our schools but also as I meet delightful, smiley children! My focus has been to work with our schools in Ghana and Togo in terms of both teachers and pupils as well as supporting our charity projects however I can. Such projects include refurbishment of classrooms, building toilet blocks as well as funding libraries. Alongside this is our ongoing, day to day work of encouraging attendance at school through providing access to sport for 1000s of children on a weekly basis. Children and teenagers enjoy a range of physical activities including football, netball and athletics at school as well as through after-school development clubs. This is managed and delivered by our team in Ghana which includes Emmanuel (Country Manager) and his team of five staff who work full time for the charity and are fully funded by Futurestars Charity.

Being able to work with our schools has been both personally and professionally the most wonderful and challenging experience. Teaching classes of 60-100 pupils with no technology has required finding and establishing context for the content of my lessons as well as a huge dollop of creativity to keep my classes engaged. As teachers in England we have access to varied professional development which is not necessarily the case for our Ghanaian counter parts; I have tried to bring some of this knowledge and expertise to our teachers. Although education can be free in Ghana, resources are not. This means that I travel with paper, pencils, pens, crayons, rubbers, rulers etc packed in my bags; these items are gold dust.

Along with my fellow trustees and our team in Ghana, I would be immensely grateful if you felt able to sponsor me as I take on the London Marathon 2024 in aid of Futurstars Charity. This will enable us to continue our work in Ghana and Togo, encouraging pupils to take part in their education by engaging them through sport. I know that your donations will keep me going through my early morning training runs as well as the big day itself. Thank you so much.

For more information, please visit https://www.futurestarscharity.org.uk

With affection,

Geraldine

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