UPDATE: What a fantastic day! The sun was shining, my sister and cousin were there cheering us on, and we both finished faster than our time goals! I finished 5 min faster than my goal, at 1 hr 40 min. Phil, you'd be proud of my 24:22 5k run - close to the 24 min you'd set for me! A huge thanks to Nith and Srips for being there, and catching us both at all the transitions and the finish line - great logistical planning! And A MASSIVE THANK YOU for all of you who donated to AMREF. :)

I've just come back from a trial run-through that involved spitting out blue-green algae in the murky Serpentine (ignoring the health-warning posters), dodging cars and pedestrians and Boris bikes to cycle around Regent's Park and running so fast my lungs felt like helium balloons and I thought, if I'm going to do something crazy I might as well do some good with it!

I'll be doing my first triathlon, the Virgin London Triathlon, in the Thames in a month's time. Please help me get some good out of this madness by donating to a charity I've gotten to know personally over the past year, AMREF. 

Last year I visited an AMREF medical clinic in Kibera, which is Africa's biggest slum and completely neglected by the government. They also work with schools on sanitation, train midwives and do health-based education and outreach amongst other projects.  What sold it to me is that the staff on the ground is local and works bottom-up based on the needs of the community. I was also privileged to meet an inspiring Tanzanian field worker who helps blind HIV-positive community members access information, services and counseling. 

Of course if you have your own favourite charity you like to support, feel free to turn the tables, to use this as a catalyst to donate to them and spread their profile by telling me all about their work! 

With lots of love,

Divya

 

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