I’ve had an odd week as far as training goes. I was in Thurso this weekend so I had to get up early on Friday and get the killer run done before driving a few hundred miles. That’s not a great idea. Run 10k then sit still for 6 hours. The upside was a run by the sea on Sunday morning!
This week I’ve run 3 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. I’ve covered 34.61km and used up 2781 calories. Since I started training I’ve run for over 16 hours and covered 168.57km. The race is only 21km.
Let me remind you why I’m doing this.
Every morning 12-year-old Etebane Jemal sets off on a four kilometre walk to collect clean water for her family. It’s a journey she has to make twice a day, carrying ten litres of water on her back – all she can carry given her small size – and it’s a trek that puts her at risk of abduction and rape.
Etebane is from Ethiopia, a country beset by widespread poverty. Regular droughts and food shortages make it a struggle for people to survive.
Clean water
A major problem for many people in Ethiopia is the lack of access to clean water. Families often have to use dirty, stagnant ponds to drink from and wash.
Ponds that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and diseases like malaria – a life-threatening illness in the region Etebane and her family live.
To get clean water, women and children have to walk long distances across sometimes dangerous terrain.
This can leave them – especially young unaccompanied girls – at risk of rape and abduction by men who want to avoid paying a ‘bride price’ – a dowry paid at marriage.
But despite these risks they continue to walk miles to fetch and carry water for their family and loved ones. Often children forfeit their education because it takes up so much of their time and leaves them too exhausted to go to school.
Hope of an education
Thanks to your generous donations and with the help of Christian Aid partner Water Action, Etebane’s community has been busy digging trenches and laying pipelines so that clean water can flow directly into the village.
This week is Christian Aid week in the UK. So, if you get a Christian Aid envelope through your door please remember that just a few pounds will save a life.
You have also help Christian Aid by sponsoring my half marathon run at justgiving.com/stewartcutler.
You have the power to make the world a better place. Thank you.