My wife and I were teachers in schools around Brussels for 35 years.

Most recently in the European School in Laeken for 17 years
between us until we retired in 2021.

In 2005 we visited Nairobi, Kenya and were struck by the number of children living in slums without access to regular food, medical care and education..... and we realised that with just a small amount of money each month we could maintain a child in school where they would be fed and educated.

Today, Nairobi is a totally different place, but the slums are as big as
ever and the need just as real for those children unfortunate enough to live and work around the city dump or in the other slums.

So here I am running again to raise money for The Giraffe Project
because we want to help more students and do it better. Why? Because every kid deserves a future and that's what Giraffe is all about.

So, look out for the Giraffe on our running vests: cheer us on and please donate:

• Either on a runner's JustGiving page like mine, which is simple, fast and secure. The donation is sent directly to Giraffe, so it saves time and cuts costs. It also helps us recognise donors and make sure the money goes where they intend it to go .. to the kids and their schools.

• Or contact me at ri.baines@giraffeproject.org for PayPal and other options

Here is a bit more of the Giraffe story:

• In 2005 we brought back the names of 20 needy
  children and teenagers, we had met and, with the help of generous friends and family, they were soon sponsored into schools.
• In 2006 we went back for more students and The Giraffe Project was born! 
• By 2010 we were helping over 100 Primary children,
  around 30 Secondary students a year and were planning post-secondary vocational College courses for the first High School graduates on the programme.
• By 2012 we had built a 4 storey Primary School to
  house 250 children from Mathare slum and its environs, expanded Green Pastures school in Kibera slum and founded a secondary school.

We have built schools and drilled boreholes, trained teachers and
supplied essential school materials and we continue to do so. The changed lives keep us inspired: it's great to see a young person who began with low expectations of life go into adulthood with new confidence and vision.

Find out more about what Giraffe is doing now and more of the stories of our graduates at www.giraffeproject.org