In December I turned 75 and I've just completed running 75 miles solo (in fact 3 marathons: 78.6 miles) in my home town, Haywards Heath, from 18 February to 18 March - my late parents’ birthdays.
The Anglo-Ghanaian children’s charity this is for is Lovey Foundation (UK), charity no. 1191631. I became a founder trustee of that in 2016 because my father passed his grammar school entrance exams but couldn’t go there: his parents couldn’t afford the uniform.
Thanks to inflation (almost twice as high in Ghana as here), it costs about £70 to equip a subsistence farmer’s child for school in rural Bawku and Binduri Districts, NE Ghana. That's for the required uniform, sandals, backpack, exercise books and personal stationery. With your help I aim to raise £70 per mile so 75 more girls' and boys' lives can change in September. We've supported 693 since 2013, the majority being girls.
From 18 February to 18 March 2023 I ran 72 miles at 72 for this cause, but 8 months later I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, thanks to an NHS they lack in Ghana, I began 6 months of successful hormone and radiotherapy treatment, but could only resume running last autumn. Since I'm 3 years older, running 3 more miles than 3 years ago, my challenge has been tough! But nowhere near as tough a challenge as child labourers in rural Ghana face, who can't access the primary school education we take for granted.
Please sponsor me with GIFT AID if you pay UK Income / Capital Gains Tax, so we can reclaim 25p for each £1 you give.
More details from melvyn@loveyfoundation.org
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PROGRESS BLOG @ 18 March: 4.5 miles in 67 mins today - quite warm & sunny. That's 78.6 miles run in 29 days (3 marathons). FINISHED this challenge, but exhausted!
