Horsham dad’s challenge to bring clean water to all

Horsham father Simon Perry who has challenged himself to run 1,000km in 2015 for the international water aid charity Just a Drop - picture submitted

Already half way through his endeavour, Simon, of Honeysuckle Walk, has committed himself to numerous running events and is not averse to doing some of them in style.

His first event - The Brighton Chicken Run - saw him dressed as a chicken. He has also taken part in the British London 10km and he plans to tackle the Great North Run next month.

Simon said: “This time last year I was a typical sloth like 30-something who could not run for a bus if I tried.

“For many reasons, some personal some not, this changed; I dug out my running shoes and hit the road in the aid of Just a Drop.”

He added: “I may not be able to provide the technical skills that Just a Drop have to provide communities with clean water but I hope that any funds I raise will make a difference to the lives of people.”

The idea of running such a distance in aid of Just a Drop came about whilst working in an environmental consultancy.

Simon decided that water sanitation was a crucial problem facing many areas today.

He wrote on his blog: “Clean fresh water is a basic necessity which we all take for granted. However, millions of people around the world have to survive without easy access to clean water or basic sanitation.”

Just a Drop has delivered over 130 projects in 31 countries, supporting approximately 1.5 million people since its beginnings in 1998.

The aim of the charity is to address the shocking statistic that a child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related disease – which means more children under the age of five years old die from this than from malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined.

To support Simon Perry reach his target of £1,000, go to his Virgin Money Giving Page uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningforwater of cheer him along in Horsham Park where he often trains.

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