Chris Griffin is running the Venice 10km

Last month I moved to Italy to the town of Mestre, which is just over the bridge from Venice.  Currently working in the ship yard as part of a team overseeing the contruction of our companys new cruise ship. The yearly Marathon and 10km run is coming up in under a month and I have been able to secure a position in the 10km as well as being able to support a charity providing vital help to vulnerable children in West Africa.  

The charity is called Street Child and looks to empower disadvantaged children by creating opportunities for education and a more stable family life. Many children are left living on the street or forced into the sex industry due to levels of extreme poverty that many of us could not even imagine, these young children are faced with such danger and fear when they should be allowed to learn and play as every child wishes to do.

Street child looks to reunite these lost children; many of whom have ran away, with their family.  They can then support the family to ensure the child stays in school and even the family can become self-sustaining.  Street Child can provide business-training, grants along with loans; this can be as little as £30.  Such an amount seems a small figure to many reading this but it could mean so much more to the people Street Child can help. 

Another aim for the charity is to ensure help is still available after the Ebola virus leaves the international news, the virus itself seems to be controlled now but that doesn’t leave much for all the children that have now become orphans, around 20,000 children in Sierra Leone and Liberia are estimated to now be orphans due to the virus. A vast majority of these children will never have been even able to say good bye to their parents due to how highly contagious the virus is.  Street Child is seeking to directly help these lost children.  Even if a child is in a healthy household the effects of the virus are widespread with schools being closed due to fear of the virus or lack of teachers and resources.

By empowering these children and their families today they will be looking towards a brighter future years to come and generations after, a small donation today would mean families experiencing difficulty can get the help they so desperately need.

You can check out the course here

http://www.venicemarathon.it/en/venicemarathon/family-run-2/racecourse-vm10km

Thanks!