Thanks for visiting my JustGiving page!

My name is Louise and I will be completing the virtual 2023 TCS London Marathon this year to raise money for the incredible Women for Women International UK.

I have been raising money for Women for Women International since I first discovered the charity as a student at the University of Warwick. When I first joined the WfWI student society, it was 2017 and the Syrian refugee crisis dominated the news. The displacement of so many people was a humanitarian disaster but the intense economic and social pressure the region faced in the aftermath made the status of women and girls particularly vulnerable.

In that same year, Women for Women International launched offices across the region, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and later in Jordan, to assist nearly 1,500 displaced women. These offices help break the isolation of conflict by joining small groups of women together. They learn to save, build businesses, understand their rights, improve their health, and change societal rules. And in our small student society, shaking buckets, organising events like the Warwick Women's Summit (the first of its kind in the UK) and the occasional sponsored event, I like to think we were a small part of the change in these survivor's lives.

WfWI does work like this globally in many countries affected by war and conflict. The £350 goal of this marathon will be donated entirely to Women for Women International to help women survivors rebuild their lives, reinvest in their families and pursue a future as independent individuals.

The last time I did a sponsored event like this for WfWI was in 2018 and that was only a 5k! I'm a little rusty but determined to get this done.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your support!