Posted 18-04-11: I DID IT!! Such a relief…leg muscles a little stiff this morning but should be right as rain in a day or two. Finish time was 2 hours 35 mins (a whole 2 mins faster than last year!). Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone who has made an online donation to Renewable World through this page. Photos of race day will be posted on this page very soon!

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Thanks to people's amazing generosity, my original fundraising target of £500 was exceeded within nine days of the page going live. Then I upped the target to £1,000 which was reached the next day (thanks almost entirely to the good work of The Hibernian Club of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode!). So please keep the donations coming and who knows what final sum we can raise for Renewable World! 

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Hello and thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page where I am asking people to donate money to a great charity called Renewable World by sponsoring me to run the Edinburgh Kilomathon (26.2km/16.3 miles!!) taking place on Sunday, 17 April 2011.

Renewable World is a registered charity which works with local partners in Africa, Asia and Central America to tackle poverty by providing affordable small-scale renewable energy solutions (solar, wind and hydro) for remote communities which are most affected by climate change. Renewable World believes that the best way to provide sustainable solutions for community development is to start with the people themselves. Building a strong partnership with the local community is an essential part of the charity's work in order to respect the communities’ cultural values at the same time as developing a solution which meets the needs of the community.  

Users pay a small fee for the energy use, which forms a maintenance fund and ensures the long term sustainability of the project.  Health is improved through the use of clean lighting sources (kerosene fumes are a major cause of indoor air pollution), because clean water can be pumped direct to households and because clinics can keep vaccines in fridges. Education is improved as children can study in the evenings, and schools can open later for adult education.  Access to energy also enables communication and trade, and provides a stimulus for establishing new income generating ventures.

To find out more about the work of Renewable World, please go to http://www.renewable-world.org/

A little energy, a lot of change...

Thank you, go raibh maith agat,

Neasa

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.