Which Charity?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a runner entered into a long-distance race must be in want of sponsorship.

Everyone assumes that I have entered the Bath Half Marathon in order to raise money for a specific cause that I support. In actual fact the decision to enter came first - thought about helping a charity came later.
 
For many races - in particular the most famous and popular such as the London Marathon - it is almost impossible to gain an entry except through one of the major charities - who appear to blockbook places. To get one of these places you have to commit to raising several thousand pounds from your sponsors.

My choice of which charity to choose has come down to a final 3 candidates:-

• Lifeboats - RNLI
• Prostate Cancer - Cambridge
• Voluntary Service Overseas - VSO - Dr Becky Minting in Malawi

All these are charities that I support.

RNLI
It shocked me to discover that many people do not realise that the RNLI is dependent on volunteers to run its lifesaving activities and on donations and legacies for finance.

The volunteers regularly risk their lives putting to sea in the most dangerous conditions. And don’t always come home - the Mousehole lifeboat was lost with all hands on 19 December 1981.

Despite the Royal and National in its name the RNLI provides a service not just in UK waters but in the Republic of Ireland too.

The cost of running the RNLI is £123.5M a year. About £14k per hour.

This is the lead charity for the Bath Half Marathon so would be the easiest one for me to support.

Prostate Cancer - Cambridge
This is the most common cancer for men - mostly over age 50. There is a genetic component to susceptibility but most men will get it eventually. About 35,000 men were diagnosed with the cancer in 2006. More that 12,000 die of prostate cancer each year.

There is an urgent need to find a reliable test for use in national screening. This is one of the areas of research supported by Cambridge Cancer Reseach Fund The current test relies on measuring raised PSA levels. But 2 out of 3 men with raised PSA levels do not have the cancer. And it is possible to have the cancer without raised PSA.

The cancer also varies in the seriousness of its effects. In some cases a patient can have it for many years without serious harm - in others the cancer can grow and spread rapidly. Unfortunately the treatments available can have unpleasant side effects.

So more research is required into why some prostate cancers are more aggressive than others and how this can be detected accurately.

VSO - Dr Becky Minting in Malawi
Many of you may remember VSO as providing an interesting gap-year experience for students wishing to help out in third-world countries and to get something different on their CV.

Nowadays VSO depend on qualified and experienced volunteers to provide the most effective impact. The volunteer in this case is Dr Rebecca Mitting - Paediatrician - working in MZUZU Central Hospital.

MZUZU is the 3rd largest city in MALAWI and is capital of the Northern Province. Here there is no more than 1 doctor for 53,000 people.

The mortality rate for children under 5 years old is high. Main causes are:-

• Malaria
• Pneumonia
• Malnutrition
• Tuberculosis - largely due to HIV

In Malawi the HIV infection rate is 12%.

The hospital is overcrowded and under equipped. It includes:-

• Children’s Ward of 40 beds - usually about 100 patients
• Nursery for premature births - too small and lacking some basic equipment
• Nursery for slightly older children - small and overcrowded
• Under 5s Clinic - small booth - deals with 100+ children each day.

Before Dr Minting arrived in March there was no doctor there and the work was all done by clinical officers. Since her arrival she has:-

• Introduced a paediatric clinic twice a week for outpatients
• Set up a new High Dependency Unit for severe cases
• Introduced weekly Teaching sessions and daily Handover Meetings

With the Sister in charge of maternity she has applied for and obtained a VSO grant of £3000 to improve the services for newborn babies. The money will be spent on locally sourced but effective equipment such as ”Blantyre hotcots” incubators which will help to reduce the 26% death rate among admissions.


Help Me Choose
Three good causes. Which should I choose to support with the sponsorship for my run?

Help me decide. Post a comment.

Bath Post