On Sunday 25 May, James Tarran and William Pitt from Beazley will brave tropical conditions (not to mention potholes and stray chickens) to participate in the Sierra Leone marathon.  We begin at 6.00am to avoid the worst of the heat, but have been assured that the temperature will still hit a balmy 30 degrees (86 degrees Fahrenheit), with 85% humidity.

Why??? 

Because Street Child, the cause for which we are running, is worth it.  Since 2008 it has reunited more than 2000 children with their families and helped more than 20,000 gain access to education.

The horrors of the civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone until 2002 cast a long shadow even today.  Thousands of children still sleep rough in the streets of the country's cities.  In the countryside, the most pressing need is for education.  Street Child started its educational development programme (Every Child in School) in Tambakha in the extreme north, the poorest chiefdom in Sierra Leone. In a part of the world where formal schooling was almost non-existent, Street Child has been working towards offering every child in Tambakha the chance to receive a quality education. The project has also expanded to other rural regions with similar needs.

The model has worked very well and since 2012 Street Child has been conducting needs assessments throughout West Africa in a bid to take the approach developed in Sierra Leone to other nations desperately in need of help. In 2013 Street Child launched its first project in Liberia, helping street children in the capital, Monrovia.

We think Street Child is a cause that is worth a little sweat.  We'd be enormously grateful for your support.

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