First of all, huge thanks to everyone who donated to last year's run. Running for the Royal Marsden was a great moment for me and my family, and the final donation total was stunning!  

This year I'm running for Microloan, who are are a small UK based microfinance charity, offering loans, business training and mentoring support to women in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Operating at the moment in Malawi and Zambia, over 28,000 women are being supported by training and capital provided by Microloan, setting up small self-sustainable businesses, like grocery stalls, poultry farms, or metalworking projects. 

Only when their businesses are up and running and consistently making profit, the women re-pay their loans. Microloan has a 99% repayment rate - a testament to the process - and those repaid loans go back into the pot for other loans to be made to other people. So any donations made will continue to have effects long into the future.

Microloan's approach represents an innovative approach to helping out in the poorest region of the world, one that offers far greater long-term empowerment than they would be by a conventional hand-out. And so please give what you can! £1400 is the minimum, but would love to smash that. Thanks so much!