Sue and Bill Thornton

Sue and Bill Thornton were two excellent and very popular volunteers at our Bhairahawa art workshop in November/December. Between them they extended the range of the tuition to incorporate lessons in IT (Bill's area of expertise), English lessons and "Iris folding", a craft technique favoured by Sue. I write belatedly about them as I have just found a film that they shot during their time there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-BQ2LZuoU

I found this through Sue's fundraising page (hint, hint) as she and family members will be joining me on the BUPA 10km run in London on May 25th. Visit:

http://www.justgiving.com/susanthornton1

By the look of Bill's chin he must have had to leave us in December to carry out duties elsewhere as Santa.

I won!

Yes, I managed to beat the clock and get out of bed at 3.30 a.m. this morning. I was then placed fourth in getting to the start line at a ridiculously early time; I'm like that with timekeeping. I felt rather bewildered to be in the "warm up" zone, given that there was a healthy breeze blowing in off Causeway Bay. Then I saw others adopting pre-race contortions that I couldn't possibly emulate and the penny dropped.

Of course with the 5.15 a.m. start time that meant we would be running in the dark. But at least the fireworks which were set off as the race began worked to their best effect. Within 300 metres I realised that I was highly unlikely to win this race as scores were already racing away ahead of me. I was gratified to note though that one participant was already walking, so I certainly wasn't going to come last either. The route was a good one, following the eastern corridor motorway 5km out and 5km back; the organisers having had the good sense to ban traffic for a few hours. There were a few undulations to be dealt with but the marvellous views of Hong Kong were a welcome distraction during the run.

My (unofficial) time was 58 minutes and I was pleased to complete my first ever 10km event inside one hour. Now I have a target to beat at the BUPA 10km run in London in May. If I shed a little more weight I am sure that I can improve upon today's effort.

I believe I can probably claim one other victory. I would be surprised if any other runner this morning had the backing of £18,834 in sponsorship. If you played a part in helping me reach this amount, thanks very much! If you didn't you're still not too late to contribute. See:

www.justgiving.com/philipholmesbupa

The Esther Benjamins Trust is offering guaranteed places for the BUPA run. Drop me a line please if you are interested.

Not so vital statistics

I have just measured myself up to provide baseline figures for the fitness drive I am going to embark upon in the lead up to my participation in the BUPA 10km run in London next year. The data are not impressive.

Height - 1.74m
Weight - 80kg
Waist - 99cm
Hips - 101 cm

Oh dear. Consultation with the BUPA website indicates that it's currently not looking good for my prospects of avoiding a heart attack. My Body Mass Index (BMI) which is calculated by dividing weight in kg by height in metres stands at 26.42; a figure of between 25-30 is considered "overweight". Encouraged by the recent medical evidence that BMI is a less reliable measure of risk than Waist to Hip ratio I calculated that one enthusiastically. My optimism was short lived. The ratio works out at 0.98 - a figure of greater than .90 takes me into the high risk zone.

Anyway, encouraged by a family member's contribution of £2k towards my sponsorship page this morning the fitness drive begins today. As I am nearing my first fundraising target of £1k for every km of the run I am going to set myself a real challenge. I am no athlete, decreasingly so as the years go on, and have little chance of realising my idle boast to friends of being first across the line. Instead I am going to try to set a record for the amount raised by an individual and maybe also by a charity running team in this particular event. I am awaiting information from the event organisers as to what the highest sponsorship has been in the past.

Guinness Book of Records here we come!

Bailo

During the festival of Tihar Nepalese children perform "Bailo" going around people's houses singing and dancing in return for a donation and some treats - a bit like "trick or treat" in the Western world. Yesterday the refuge children came to my home and I recorded a short video of their trip. I have just now posted that footage to my charity run fundraising page in the hope that any viewers will contribute something to my online sponsorship in appreciation, just as I was pleased to put my hand into my pocket yesterday:

http://www.justgiving.com/philipholmesbupa

A donation can be modest and I don't expect many to compete with the gentleman who added £5k to the kitty yesterday!

I hate mobile culture

It became a running joke with my friends that I didn't possess a mobile until I reluctantly accepted one a couple of years ago. And then only because one of them bought me one out of exasperation at being unable to reach me. My problem was not with the technology per se - I love communications and ease of accessibility, particularly when trying to run a UK charity from Kathmandu and to stay in touch with friends and supporters. Instead I was troubled by becoming part of mobile culture, within which those who own the confounded things feel compelled to use and answer them, however inappropriate, wherever they may be and whatever the occasion. Take a look at the picture I received this morning of former circus girl Maya who I have mentioned in a previous post as being a talented distance runner. She's just 15 but yesterday came 9th in a 3km run against national adult athletes. In the picture she's receiving a prize from the local MP but just look at the geezer in the background who is so subtley (not) concealing his use of his mobile.

I am considering bringing Maya over to London for a future running event if my Trust can find some sponsorship for her nearer the time. That would be the chance of a lifetime for her and well deserved.

On the subject of which, don't forget my online sponsorship form for the BUPA 10km run:

http://www.justgiving.com/philipholmesbupa

Sponsorship is developing nicely as is interest from fellow runners. Two of my London-based staff, Chris Kendrick and Nadia Kamel, will be joining me, as will six other supporters (so far). If you would like to come too, registration for the race opened yesterday:

http://www.london10000.co.uk/site/?pageID=200

Table Tennis

Yesterday I opened a mini youth club at the Trust's children's refuge at Godawari, Kathmandu and inaugurated the table tennis table. The facility isn't lavish - it's all we can afford - but it will mean a lot to the kids who are getting older and more energetic by the day. Afterwards I welcomed new volunteer Carole Swithern and bade farewell to outgoing volunteers Jane McKears and Olwyn Cupid. This has been a record year for the number of volunteers who have come to help us out and quantity has been matched by quality.

I now have seven runners (self included) pledged to take part in the BUPA 10km run for which online registration opens today. We are planning to do the run with clowns' (sad) faces with the message that the Indian circus is no laughing matter. I am those who have been very quick off the mark to sponsor me. I have been so encouraged that I have upped the fundraising target to £10,000, aiming to raise £1,000 for each kilometer that I run in the year of the Trust's 10th birthday. New runners and sponsors most welcome!

I am very proud of our new look website, which has had a total makeover and went live at the weekend.

A long time in charity

Former UK Prime Minister, the late Harold Wilson, once said that "a week is a long time in politics". After my fundraising experiences of the past week I am inclined to the view that it can also be a long time in the charitable sector. For at the start of the week I was quite bullish about our chances of being able to balance The Esther Benjamins Trust's books next year through a new raft of funding applications to grant making foundations that we have just issued. However last week we received rejection after rejection, including from traditionally generous historical funders. I can only infer that those foundations are as worried about donating as has become the general public in the present global financial crisis.

On Saturday I wrote to my Trustees to share my concerns and propose that we cast the fundraising net even wider than before in the coming year. One of the new initiatives that I have suggested is the Trust's participation in the annual BUPA 10km run in London on the 25th May next year. Online application will open on 28th October but the Trustees have agreed that we will purchase an additional 30 guaranteed places to ensure that we can field a good team. And I have decided to put my feet where my mouth is and join the run myself. I'll be inviting supporters to join me but if you can't do so please sponsor me through the online form that can be accessed through this blog.