Hi

In December this year I’ll be completing a challenge trek to Everest base camp in Nepal - this will be no easy feat! Last year I reached the top of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania - the last 6 hours before reaching the summit, hiking through the darkness of night, was probably the toughest moment of my life - freezing cold, all of my water frozen, banging headache due to the altitude and attempting to climb what felt like a vertical wall. The only thing that got me through those moments was knowing that it would all be over by sunrise and I’d be returning to the comforts of home soon enough.

This year I’ll be raising money for children who face a vertical wall every day, with no knowledge of when their challenge will be over - if at all. In 2002 the wall surrounding Bethlehem and it’s inhabitants was built, and remains there to this day despite the UN finding it’s construction contrary to International law. All the children currently living in Bethlehem have never known freedom and what it means to live without this wall surrounding their homeland - the effects of this form of oppression during childhood can be severely detrimental to their wellbeing and growth.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Bethlehem on a few occasions and meet some of the people who live there - every time I’ve been blown away by their hospitality, humour and rationality despite their situation and living conditions. Like any city there’s diversity in personality, political opinions and which football clubs they support! Through my work I’ve got to know about some of the great work that’s being done in the city, in Aida refugee camp, by an organisation called ‘Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society’. Their aim is to alleviate some of the residents suffering by supporting the community within the camp - focusing on training children in the arts, encouraging non-violent means of cultural resistance. This provides a safe environment for the children and nurtures their creativity, allowing them to de-stress and improve wellbeing.

Regardless of your political persuasion or religious beliefs I’m sure everyone can agree that these children who were born into the conflict deserve a chance to enjoy their childhood and more importantly it’s vital they are given the support to prevent stress from affecting their wellbeing long-term.

Here’s the video I produced earlier this year, telling the story of Zaida, who attends the Alrowwad centre - https://vimeo.com/268361082

Here’s a couple videos from a filmmaker based in Jerusalem, Lucy Lyon, which provides loads of information about the organisation, so you can get a well-rounded view of the work they do - 

https://vimeo.com/193707767

https://vimeo.com/242364197

Please give generously for this fantastic cause.

Thank you, 

Martin.

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