At the start of 2021, myself and a number of friends had the absolute privilege of welcoming a 17-year old Afghan refugee into our home. He turned up on our doorstep with an unshakable grin, an affirming laugh and one line of English. 

When he first arrived, he was painfully thin, having travelled thousands of miles through mountains and deserts, sometimes in lorries, often on foot, rarely with food or water. We quickly learned his love for kidney beans, garam masala and eventually, pizza!  

As time went on we came to understand that his gracious temperament hides a heavy heart. He has witnessed friends and family killed in front of him. He has seen things that he cannot un-see. His eyes hold both sadness and hope in equal measure.

In late August, we worried with him, as the whole world watched and was shocked by images of chaos in Kabul as many tens of thousands of desperate people tried to escape the Taliban. Since, we have heard a plethora of news surrounding the journey refugees take to get to safety. 

5111 miles (8225 km) is the distance we believe that the average Afghan refugee takes to get from Kabul, Afghanistan to Bristol, England.  I will be cycling, running and swimming that distance here in England to raise money for these refugees, working with Samaritan's  purse. It's half a marathon a day for a year. 

Samaritan's Purse is helping desperate people who have fled the crisis in Afghanistan. They have a Disaster Assistance Response Team in the region to determine how and where they can best help those who have fled with just the clothes on their backs. 

They are also working with Afghans in the UK, US, Korea, Albania and assisting those who are in transit countries in the Middle East. This will not going to be a fast nor easy journey to resettlement for these families. 

Please join me in this journey in anyway you can - through encouragement, physically joining me, or financially supporting the cause.

UPDATE: 19/6/21 - Samaritan's Purse has now shifted their focus to working with Afghans remaining in Afghanistan. The current crisis within Afghanistan is that people are starving. It has been decided that my fundraiser code be set to a general fund to help any work with Afghans. At present, Samaritan's purse is working with 500 families (3,500 people) in Afghanistan to provide them with food and warmth (it's -12C there at the moment). It costs £2.07 ($3.30) to feed a family of seven for seven days or that family can be fed for £63.16 ($100.65) for one month.

Finally, donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. It's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.