In the offing: twomarathons fun morning!

I'm a little later in the week than I had intended with this post, but for once I'm not saying "where did the time go?", since I know the answer! Many of you (friends on facebook, for example), could also have a good guess: I've been preparing for the fun morning next Sunday (22nd March). A glance at the clever justgiving widgets on the sidebar will probably show my charity totals still hovering somewhere around the two-thirds mark. Some of this is due to caution on my part; if I included pledges and promises, I'd probably be nearer three-quarters of the way, maybe even more. All the same, there's a gap to be filled. So I came up with the idea of a fun morning!

The event is planned to run from 11am to 12.30, fitting neatly between the end of our Sunday Mass and lunchtime. We have a big community room in the Convent, so there should be space for all the activities. I guess the first port of call for many will be the refreshments table - coffee, tea, pizza bianca, croissants and flapjack should be on the menu, as well as squash and biscuits (following the advice of my friends, these will include both jammie dodgers AND chocolate varieties!). Hopefully that should provide enough energy to have a go on the giant tombola. Last time I counted there were around 100 prizes, and with different coloured tickets for children's and adults' prizes, you will have slightly more chance of winning what you were aiming for! There's another game, too, though for that one you'll have to wait until the end of April to know whether you've won! It's called "How long will it take?", and you have to guess just that - how long it will take me to run the two marathons. Skill, or luck? I'll leave that to you to decide. As well as the games, there'll be a display, leaflets, and a visual presentation about the charities I'm supporting, for those who have somehow missed out on learning about them. And to round off the morning, we'll have a little auction - just a handful of lots - and a mixed bunch they look like being, too!

As far as I'm concerned, the best thing about the fun morning is that every penny and pound put in the collecting pots will go straight to the charities. I've persuaded local businesses to donate prizes for the games as well as food and drink for the refreshments, so there will be no costs to cover. That means those stubborn widgets should show rather higher percentages after the event! At least, they will do if anybody turns up! If you're able to pop in, please do. I would really love to see you. If you can't be there, at least now you'll be able to imagine what you're missing...

WPF Therapy's Grand Opening

I realise I haven't written anything about the official opening of WPF Therapy's new premises near London Bridge, which took place three weeks ago now, on 11th February. Firstly, I must say that they didn't do a good job of ordering the weather. It was a filthy afternoon/evening, with driving rain and wind. Nevertheless, plenty of people must have thought it was worth the effort of getting there, as the room was quite full. Please, don't ask me to locate that room again! I think the new building is really brilliant. Despite quite limited opportunities to provide natural light, the designers have somehow managed to give the impression of a great luminosity (enough to lift the spirits even before couselling!) as well as spaciousness. However, the general consensus at the opening was that a little time would be needed to work out where things were located. As far as I can gather, there are parallel corridors and two staircases. For me this had the effect that I was constantly finding myself somewhere I didn't expect to be!

The new building certainly has a plethora of treatment rooms, all very clean, tasteful, and welcoming, without being cluttered. As I wandered around, I began to realise just how many people benefit from the services of WPF Therapy, something I hadn't managed to visualise from the bare statistic of over 500 appointments each week. Given that there are also nearly 500 students enrolled on the introductory and professional courses run by WPF Therapy, it must be a busy place at times! Even during the opening, an early-evening event, there were plenty of treatment sessions underway, which we were careful not to disturb as we looked around. Well away from these, however, the opening was accompanied by a fair volume of conversation as staff, trustees, friends, trainees, and people with all sorts of links to WPF Therapy took the opportunity to meet each other. Unusually for such events (at least in my experience), rather than being an enforced break from chatting, the speeches proved quite inspirational in their descriptions of the evolution of WPF Therapy so far, and their energy and excitement about what the future holds. It was particularly touching to hear Benita Kyle, wife of the founder, speak about the very small beginnings of what was then Westminster Pastoral Foundation, and how that original vision has been maintained through all the growth and changes of the last 40 years.

I was sad when WPF Therapy moved out of Kensington Square; for me it brought interest and diversity to the campus. I'm pretty sure they were sad to leave, too, after 30 years in such a beautiful setting. However, in characteristic fashion, what could have been viewed as an unwanted trial has instead been seized as an opportunity. I wish them many more decades of success in their crucial work!

Two months to go!

Yes, it really is true, in two months my twomarathons project will be over! Probably this is more easily imaginable for you than for me. I've grown accustomed to living with a constant list of people to contact for donations, a constant calculation of when I can fit in my training, and during the last two months a constant anxiety about my knee! The thought that it will come to an end - God willing with the objectives achieved - brings with it a certain lightening of the spirit that fits well with the approach of spring. This is not to suggest that I dislike the project. Through it I've had wonderful opportunities to communicate about some of the things that matter to me, and to experience unexpected generosity. And I've learnt a huge amount about my own (lack of) generosity, and especially about my cultivation of self-reliance as a defence mechanism. Approaching people to ask for help brings the risk of rejection - yet I understand better now how it also brings the hope of communion, the acknowledgement of mutual dependence among the whole human family. I don't find it an exaggeration to say that the continued evolution of humanity hangs on this.

On a more practical plane, there are now 52 days until the Bungay Black Dog Marathon, and 59 until the London Marathon. Donations are approaching two-thirds of the target of £2000 for each charity. Pledges and more vaguely expressed intentions to support the project should help boost those totals significantly, but there is still some way to go, and I'm running out of people to badger! So, put your thinking caps on please, and see if there isn't something you could do to help. I would be delighted to provide you with posters, flyers, sponsorship forms, and literature about the charities, if you have any arena to spread the word!

Things have continued to be less than perfect with my knee, and there have been plenty of times when I've wondered whether all the physio exercises will just be too little too late. However, I'm back to running and at present I'm managing to build up the distance without an increase in pain. This is really encouraging. I'm an extremely determined person (some other adjectives probably come to mind...) so I expect to make it round these marathons, even if not in quite the form I'd envisaged! Maybe you could cheer me on? If you're likely to be in the Bungay area on 19th April or London on 26th, let me know so that I can give you some details of when to expect me where! In my new spirit of acknowledged frailty, I will rejoice in your support!

What does RTU do? - 5. AIDS Programme

Over the past decade or two we've got quite used to hearing about AIDS and the impact it's having on populations around the world. However, I don't recall reading much in the news about the growing epidemic in India. Reaching the Unreached happens to be situated in one of the most badly affected areas, with an infection rate that is increasing extremely rapidly. Unfortunately, people there haven't had the same chances as us to learn about HIV and AIDS, the means of transmission, the risk of infection, and so on. As a result, the disease carries huge stigma in the area. The story of Pothumani, a 35 year old widow with three children, is not an unusual one. When she and her husband discovered that they were both HIV+, they hid it from the family as long as they could. However, in this man's final days, the nature of his illness became known. Pothumani was chased out of her home with great hatred; she was seen as the bringer of misfortune to the family. She planned to kill her children and commit suicide, but discovered the work of RTU just in time. They helped her to re-gain the land she was entitled to, provided financial assistance and a house, and arranged counselling for the whole family. Now Pothumani can continue to bring up her children with dignity.

In the Children's Villages more than half the children have been orphaned due to AIDS; at present almost every new admission comes from a family affected by AIDS. Many of these children are HIV+ themselves. In-depth training is given to the foster mothers to enable them to integrate HIV+ children fully into the family and the village, and to provide whatever special care is necessary. Medical check-ups take place regularly, with the prescription of anti-retroviral drugs when appropriate. Of course, some of the children eventually become too ill to be cared for at home, in which case they go to a nearby hospice run by the Presentation Sisters. Brother James (the founder of RTU) and the current director Father Antony write frequently in the newsletter of these children. Their dedication to them is so clear from their words, as is their immense grief when a child dies. There can be no doubt that every individual helped by RTU is just that - an individual - given every possible care with unstinting love.

Why not have a look at RTU's website to find out more about their work? You will even see a picture of me on there! But don't let that put you off.

Cold Conditions: Warm Welcome!

What a week to choose for some more "outreach" publicity! I travelled to Cambridge last Wednesday ready to speak in assembly at the Perse (my old school, as blog followers will know) the following morning. Thursday dawned: snowy... Snowy to the point of school-closure, that is!

This is the point at which I must say a huge and public "THANKYOU" to the school staff. Despite having small and insignificant decisions to make such as whether it was safe for girls to travel to school and whether staffing levels would be adequate for the girls to remain safely at school once they got there, a good deal of effort and flexibility was in evidence so that my presentation could go ahead. This finally happened on Friday, still surrounded by snow, with girls arriving late and others leaving early, yet I really felt that I received the warmest of welcomes. I was particularly delighted to have such an attentive audience in distracting circumstances. Thankyou, everybody!

Hopefully, a few "Perse parents" might be reading this. If so, you daughter has probably heeded my appeal to show you my blog and to encourage you to make a donation! So why should you support this unknown person and these unknown charities? Well, my visit to school last week has certainly convinced me of the existence of a "Perse Girls Community", extending to embrace families and past pupils as well as girls currently attending the school. Within that community I know that there's a real and long-standing commitment to development and progress on a global scale. My two charities contribute to that ideal of development in contrasting yet complementary ways. With Reaching the Unreached, the focus is on solutions to poverty. With WPF Therapy, it's individual emotional well-being that's at stake. Yet in both cases, the charities are working for empowerment, with particular emphasis on the dignity and worth of each individual. These concepts are key values in the educational approach of the Perse, and so I trust that we are "on the same wavelength". As a result, I have the audacity to appeal to you very directly: please make a donation! You can be sure it will help people to turn their lives around.

Training update 3

It would be more accurate to say "injury update", but the effort I'm putting into overcoming this injury certainly feels like training! The week of rest and anti-inflammatories having done very little other than to leave me feeling unfit, I went to see a physiotherapist, who came up with a totally different diagnosis! Apparently the problem is "iliotibial band friction syndrome". Despite sounding very grand, this is actually an extremely common runners' problem. The pain is due to a long tendon (stretching from the hip to below the knee) rubbing on the end of the thigh bone in the knee area. In my case, this seems to be due to a muscle imbalance in my hip, maybe due to some leg injury I can't even remember. Compensating for the imbalance, I use the wrong muscles to bring my leg forward when I run, and so the tendon scrapes on the bone rather than making a smooth passage past it!

So much for the anatomical explanation; what about the cure? Exercises! And more exercises, followed by some exercises for good measure. Four times a day you will find me in front of the mirror concentrating intently on keeping my pelvis straight as I lunge, bend, and generally contort myself in the interests of waking up those lazy muscles! And they're certainly letting me know about it. I should have impressive quads after this, if nothing else! If I have any time to spare between the muscle-strengthening exercises, I can also cycle (or use the exercise bike as is more likely in this weather), so my cardio-vascular system doesn't need to go into hibernation.

It has to be said that this is entirely not the form I expected my training to be taking at this stage. However, despite the lack of actual running, I know I'm building up all the important aspects of my fitness, and so I'm staying optimistic. After all, if I don't believe I can achieve my aims, who will?

WPF Therapy - A safe place to talk

Nobody's life runs hiccup-free; times of stress, unhappiness and discouragement are a normal part of existence. But when these feelings persist, and have a negative impact on one's ability to function, it can be very difficult to move beyond them independently. The role of WPF Therapy is to help people experiencing all sorts of emotional, personal or relationship problems, such as anxiety, bereavement, eating disorders, lack of confidence, depression, and loneliness. By talking, exploring and reflecting, clients are helped to develop their awareness of the choices they have in their life and to see their way forward. Problems and distress in the present never stand in splendid isolation; there is always some cause or set of causes. Understanding what underlies one's difficulties can be the first step in personal growth. This is where a trained and non-judgemental counsellor or psychotherapist can help by acting as a catalyst in the process, through active listening and facilitative questioning and commenting.

Because one size doesn't fit all, a variety of treatment approaches are offered at WPF Therapy. These include short-term and open-ended counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (which addresses thinking patterns and styles), group therapy, and more in-depth psychotherapy. A recommendation is made after the initial consultation as to which of these is most appropriate. In all cases, the sliding scale of payment ensures that everybody has access to a safe place to talk. Statistics show that every year in the UK, 91 million working days are lost to mental illness, and 4,000 people take their own lives. WPF Therapy works to reduce this shocking amount of human suffering by acceptance of each individual, empowering them to move forward from their place of struggle. What a great thing to do!

What does RTU do? - 4. Rural Development Programme

What can a woman do when her husband has died, she has young children to look after, no savings and no income? What alternative does she have to a life of poverty and dependence on charity?

In 26 rural villages in Southern India, she can join a self-help group of women in similar circumstances. Run by local people with the support of RTU, the groups empower the most desperate and needy in these communities to transform their lives. Through micro-finance schemes, women have access to small loans with nominal interest rates. This enables them to set up businesses without becoming entrapped in the cycle of debt associated with borrowing from local money-lenders, who can charge interest rates of 60% or more. The "businesses" I am talking about really are very small - perhaps growing vegetables or making clothes, to sell within the village - yet they can make the difference between misery and dignity.

The women in the self-help groups also meet regularly to offer mutual support. They can talk and share their concerns and successes. There are opportunities to learn about health issues and about women's rights. A very deep need is filled in this way; often for the first time, these women realise that each one is a respected and valued person who has a role in their community and in the world, and whose actions can influence the quality of their life. It is, more than anything, this empowerment which I find inspiring. Everywhere in the world, no-one should be denied the chance to construct a worthwhile and meaningful life for themselves and their families.