Masai Mara half marathon in aid of 'So They Can'

I was lucky enough to spend some time travelling through Africa back in 2008 and for me it was a real eye opener. Not only to see the poverty first hand but also to see what lengths the locals would go to to try and make a better life for themselves and their families. When I left I promised myself I would be back to do something to help out so I have been extremely lucky to be chosen by my employer Trilogy to go out to Kenya in August and spend some time with a great charity that we support - So They Can.

So They Can is providing life-changing opportunities in the communities it works with in Kenya and Tanzania, empowering and educating women and children with the aim of sustainable, long-term poverty alleviation through the rebuilding of local economies.

Trilogy Natural Skincare have an ongoing partnership with So They Can. It's previous projects with the charity resulted in the creation of 100% natural perfumes, which are made with sunflower oil produced by one of So They Can’s social business projects in Tanzania. Trilogy bought the entire first year’s harvest and for every bottle of perfume sold donated a further $2 to So They Can - a total of $50,000 so far.

So They Can is taking a team to visit its projects and also raise money to help them keep up the good work. This is my first half marathon and although its through the Masai Mara game reserve this is definitively not going to be 'a walk in the park' given the course is at altitude and close to the equator. Runners are expected to raise $5,000 each. Trilogy is generously covering the trip costs so any funds I can raise go directly to So They Can. So They Can is making a real difference and any funds you can contribute will make a huge difference:

$5 Two meals a day for one school child for a month

$10 Vegetable seedlings

$15 Exercise books for a child for a year

$50 Library books pack

$75 Sports equipment for Aberdare Ranges Primary School

$100 Mosquito nets for two homes in the Holding Hands Children’s Home

$200 Two weekend outings for children at the Holding Hands Children’s Home

$600 Sponsorship of a child for a year

$850 5,000 litre water tank for a classroom

$1,000 School excursion to the national park for 120 school children

$1,500 10,000 litre water tank for one of our projects

$2,500 Furniture for 40 children for one of our new classrooms

$3,500 Provide two nutritious meals a day for 50 unsponsored school children for one year

$5,000 Supply our local community clinic with life saving medicines and supplies for one year