6,282 miles. That’s the distance of a return trip from Wales to Liberia in Africa and the target for an energetic fundraising project led by Professor Judith Hall of the School of Medicine.
Between 5-11 June 2010, Go Africa will see people from Cardiff and beyond taking part in sponsored activities to raise money for mothers and children in Africa and right here in Wales.
The target amount is the distance – £6282. You can run, walk, swim, cycle, row or raft a mile or more to contribute to the challenge. One mile equals a donation of £1 and one hour of activity is equivalent to three miles.
Speaking about the event, Professor Hall said: “Go Africa is about focusing on the problems in Africa. It really is a worthwhile project and I hope everyone can spare some time to join in. It’s not just for staff and students – friends, family, groups – everyone can get involved. You can cover the distance in any form of exercise – we even have a group tap dancing for us! There will be a totaliser in the foyer of the University Hospital of Wales so people can see how much they’ve helped raise”
A programme of activities has been organised to coincide with the event including:
- A 5k fun run by Professor Paul Morgan, Dean of the School of Medicine on Monday 7 June.
- A rag day and raft race led by medical students on Tuesday 8th June.
- David Francis, Chair of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board will get involved by walking a 26 mile marathon around all the hospital sites in Cardiff and the Vale, meeting staff along the way.
- Welsh rugby star Jamie Roberts will lead the Cardiff Medics rugby team in an hour of sponsored exercise in the sports and social club, University Hospital of Wales. Go along and see the team between 11.00 and 12.00 on 7th June.
All money raised will be split between the charity Mothers of Africa, founded by Professor Hall and fundraising efforts for the Children’s Hospital for Wales.
Mothers of Africa is a medical educational charity that trains medical staff in Sub-Saharan Africa to care for mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. The main activities of the charity revolve around visits to African countries to provide training for anaesthetic medical staff at the front line of maternal care. Since the charity was set up in 2005, volunteers have helped develop and deliver training in four countries – Benin, Togo, Ethiopia and Liberia.
Speaking about Mothers of Africa, Professor Hall said: “I felt I had to do something after hearing a doctor from Benin talk about the death rate among women giving birth in his country. I heard him speak at a seminar about maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and learned that the number of women dying in Africa through childbirth – more than 400 – would fill a Boeing 747 every day.
“People there are poorly educated, unsupported, and quite frankly it’s a miracle they can do anything with resources. Anything we can do is worth doing.”
You can sponsor people taking part in the event by visiting Go Africa’s just giving pages at: http://www.justgiving.com/go-africa
