I have to confess having a lot of skepticism for this trend of fundraising and charity. I very often find that the underlying motivations for such initiatives are more self-serving than truly generous, I realise that the display of affliction and compassion is sometimes more important than the real impact. And I often conclude that dealing with guilt and feeling good about oneself might be a more important driver to donation than actually doing good and helping out.

 

This is why I have always thought that philanthropy should be silent and private. No bells and whistles, no recognition and no public display of attrition.

 

But I have recently come to reconsider slightly this rule of mine and would like to invite you to join me in giving to Amnesty International and help their fight for the cause of human rights.

 

A number of events over the last few months made me realise how fragile human rights are, even those that we take for granted. I therefore wanted to show some support for an organisation that I think is doing the much-needed patient, strenuous and sometimes dangerous work of upholding our values wherever and whenever they are at risk.

 

I will join the Amnesty International team at London triathlon at the end of July. I will donate the minimum threshold to take part in the team (you are therefore not sponsoring me but really them) and will match the biggest donation at the end of the campaign.

 

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.

Thanks for your support