On the 4th September I will be running the Tiree Ultramarathon to raise money and awareness for work that Amos Trust do with partners in the Gaza Strip. 

I have been training since December last year and my path to the ultramarathon has been thwarted by injury, covid and sick bugs BUT included the Isle of Mull half marathon and many beautiful runs in different places. In 3 weeks time I will be getting myself around the 35 mile (56 km) course and hoping to raise some money for Amos along the way.

I am running to raise money to ensure women in Gaza receive education, screening and treatment for breast cancer and to raise awareness about their situation through the Amos Trust and their partners at the Al Ahli Hospital. Please sponsor me if you can. 

I am passionate about helping raise awareness of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza and if you have any questions please ask!

Here's some more info about why this work is so crucial.

The Gaza Strip is 25 miles long, up to 7-miles wide, measuring 141 square miles in total (the same size as the isle of Jura) and is home to 2 million people over 1.2 million of whom are registered refugees and

52% are under 18. 

Four major conflicts since December 2008 and a 15 year Israeli long blockade have led to a devastated infrastructure.

• Over 75% of the population are dependent on food aid, 

• 30% of children have anaemia,

• youth unemployment is at 60%,

• 90% of water is unsafe to drink 

• power cuts last up to 12 hours a day. 

• Over 8,000 people cannot return to their homes after the devastation caused in last summer’s conflict.

During this period, cancer rates have risen dramatically in Gaza, which is particularly worrying for women, as breast cancer kills more women than any other form of cancer in Gaza and five-year survival rates for breast cancer patients are less than half of those in the UK.

There are many barriers to women seeking and getting treatment for cancer and these include social stigma, fear of treatment and examination and the effects of the blockade on the Gaza Strip.              

Patients can usually only access a 4 week of supply of chemotherapy drugs due to cost and Israeli restrictions of supplies entering Gaza resulting in only partial treatment.

Radiotherapy is not accessible at all as integral components of the treatment are forbidden entry into Gaza by the Israeli authorities.

Patients who requite radiotherapy must apply for a permit to travel the 49 miles to East Jerusalem, over 28% of those applying for these permits were either denied a permit or received no response (World Health Organisation Statistics between January - October 2016)

Without access to radiotherapy many women end up having full masectomies.

Our partner, Al Alhi Arab Hospital is seeking to educate 5,000 women a year about breast cancer through their community-based awareness raising programme.

They aim to provide annual screening to 1,000 women over forty to those who present themselves as exhibiting potential symptoms.

The programme is built around Al Ahli’s partnership with 35 local community groups throughout the Gaza strip and the creation of local grassroots support groups. The hospital believes that the key first step is to break the taboos around breast cancer for both women and men.

They seek to do this by raising awareness of the incidence of breast cancer in Gaza and of the increase in all forms of cancer.

Then by explaining the need for early identification and diagnosis, they hope to give them the best opportunity for treatment to be successful and for women to live a full life post-treatment.

I am running to raise money to ensure women in Gaza receive education, screening and treatment for breast cancer and to raise awareness about this situation. Please sponsor me if you can.