Hey all, this year I've decided not only to push my running to the next level, but also to do some good at the same time.

I've joined Team Amos to run for freedom in the 2023 Palestine half marathon in Bethlehem, supporting Palestinians who are exercising their ability to run, despite the occupying Israeli forces restricting their rights of movement. 

This marathon was set up to raise awareness of the fact that you cant run 26 miles in the Little Town without going through a checkpoint or literally hitting the Wall. 

I will be running the route - which starts in Bethlehem, goes through two refugee camps and along the apartheid wall-  to support the marathon organisers in their aims of growing Palestinian running culture, raising awareness of the Palestinian situation, and also showing another side to the lives of everyday Palestinians. 

At the same time I will be raising money with Amos Trust for three organisations in the West Bank and Gaza, which work with local and international peace activists and partner with grass-roots projects, to call for justice, peace, reconciliation and full equal rights for all Palestinians and Israelis.

The three causes are:

Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, which works in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, one of the most tear gassed places on earth, to
cultivate creativity as ‘beautiful, non-violent resistance’ in the fight against injustice. 

Alrowwad offers a child-centred, safe and inclusive creative space, so individuals can build confidence, express themselves and tell their stories through theatre, dance, music, photography and film.

A donation of £30 could fund forty young people from Aida Refugee camp to take part  in Alrowwad’s Beautiful Resistance Dabka dance workshops, and £120 could train a young person from Aida camp in film and photography so that they can tell their story.

For more information visit https://www.amostrust.org/palestine-justice/partners/alrowwad-cultural-and-arts-
society/

The second cause is Amos Trust and Holy Land Trust's programme to rebuild Palestinian homes that have been demolished by the Israeli Defence Force in the West Bank.

Amos Trust takes volunteers from the UK to work alongside the builders, the family and the community, rebuilding homes on land owned by Palestinians, which was either annexed by Israel in 1967 to form part of Greater Jerusalem or is in Area C, which represents over 60% of the West Bank under the Oslo Accords and comes under full Israeli control.

Their partners, Holy Land Trust and HIRN, also work closely with local lawyers to preserve the houses and to obstruct and delay the threats of demolition.

For more information visit https://www.amostrust.org/palestine-justice/change-the-record/amos-home-rebuild-
programme/

Finally, Wi’am’s Peace Garden, situated at Wi'am Conflict Resolution Centre, next to a main checkpoint and overlooked by a military watchtower and the separation wall, is a joyful act of peaceful resistance through the cultivation of community gardens - complete with a children’s play area.

The centre aims to strengthen local communities, and to support them in tackling increased family breakdowns and community tensions created by the occupation and lack of freedom. It does this by offering counselling, mediation and reconciliation to address the needs of groups including women, young people, couples, older people, neighbours and children.

The garden is the central hub for Wi'am's work, and has been expanded and further developed so that it now follows the
separation wall, showing persistent resilience, and commitment to peace and justice.

For more information visit https://www.amostrust.org/palestine-justice/partners/wi-am-conflict-resolution-centre/