Hello Family, Friends and Running Fanatics,

I've been taking the opportunity to go running in my free time over the winter months and I've run 40 miles so far!

After Christmas, I visited the Cardinal Hume Centre in Westminster, where it was the story of one of their child refugees, Mohsen, that inspired me to run a lot further and contribute my miles to their Big 4000 Challenge. Their target is to cover a total distance of 4,000 miles, the journey so many refugees face to reach safety - so I'm running during Lent and aiming to cover 100 miles for them by Easter!

When Mohsen was 15 years old - the same age as I am now - he had to flee his burning village in Sudan following a militia attack. It then took him two years to travel 4,000 miles, and he suffered abuse, imprisonment and slavery on the way - but he eventually arrived in London, alone, in February 2020.

It was the Cardinal Hume Centre that gave Mohsen the in-depth support he needed. He learned to trust people again and, with their help, he worked hard on his English reading and grammar. Mohsen then decided he wanted to be a mechanical engineer - and guess what! In 2022 he passed his Mechanical Engineering Level One, as well as his driving theory test - all in English. Then an Employment Advisor at the Centre put Mohsen in touch with the First Steps Trust and he was extremely excited to be offered work experience in a garage, plus training in motor vehicle mechanics.

I'm passionate about running and am committed to my goal - I admire Mohsen and other child refugees like him, who have lost so much to poverty and war at such a young age. I also admire the Cardinal Hume Centre, which not only provides safety and supported accommodation, but also very in-depth, practical support tailored to each person's needs. They give young people like Mohsen both the tools and the chance they need to overcome poverty and avoid homelessness; the opportunity to turn their life around and live with dignity.

However, the Cardinal Hume Centre doesn't only help young refugees - nearly 30% of children in London live in poverty, and in the local area of Westminster itself, thousands of people are homeless. At least half the young people living in the Cardinal Hume Centre's 24-hour supported accommodation are from the local area. Their family centre also provides a safe space for vulnerable local families, where children can learn and play, and parents can use a communal kitchen and get specialist advice.

I'm looking forward to my challenge, knowing that it will help families and particularly young people to receive the support they need to survive and even, like Mohsen, to thrive.

Anything you are able to give, however small, would be hugely appreciated. 

For example:

• £10 could pay for a vulnerable family or young person to buy food and essentials
• £25 could pay for specialist advice for a family to stay in their home
• £50 could pay for a bedding and essentials pack for a child refugee moving into their new home at the Cardinal Hume Centre
• £102 could cover the average cost of a secondary school uniform, shoes and PE kit for a child living in poverty
• £200 could triage five people at risk of rough sleeping who need crisis support
• £250 could support round the clock care for young people given a home at the Cardinal Hume Centre

Whatever you can give, you will be helping to turn lives around.

Thank you very much and wish me luck!

To learn more about the Centre and watch the story of child refugee Mohsen, please visit www.cardinalhumecentre.org.uk/big4000