Do you know what it is like to be hungry?

There are 870 million hungry people in the world and 98 percent of them are in developing countries. In fact almost 30% of the people that go hungry are in Sub-Saharan Africa –our neighbours.

An estimated 146 million children in developing countries are underweight.

And

63% of the people in Swaziland live below the poverty line – that is less than R11.50 a day!

What can you buy for R11.50?

No wait… What can you buy for R9?

A cup of coffee? Nope. A bottle of water? Maybe. A sandwich? Definitely not.

In fact there is very little you can buy that’s of any value to you for under R10 these days.

But did you know that…

·         for less than R9, you can feed a person for a whole day

·         for just over R62, you can feed that person for a week

·         and for less than R3 300, you are feeding that person for a whole year!

Seems impossible.

“I am Derek Van Dam and this is why I run…”

“Meet Maria Dlamini. She was born on the 9^th of October 2004 and she, along with many other precious souls like her, is the reason I am running the Comrades Marathon.

She had a slow start but has thrived at El Shaddai Ministries (based in Swaziland, Africa) and developed a very social personality. She attends the El Shaddai Primary School where she does very well academically. Maria’s father visits a few times per year and overall she is very healthy.

Every day, I realise that I am seeing a true miracle unfold right in front of my eyes. Maria has come so far and is on a path to become a hugely impactful person in this world.

Seeing Maria progress over the years has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. I consider myself very fortunate to have been a part of her wonderful journey to becoming a healthy, educated and active child.

Its projects like Compassionate Life Foundation's "Feed-A-Family" fund or the "Child Sponsorship Program" that restore purpose and direction in the lives of so many across this impoverished area of the world.

Please consider partnering with me on my final days of preparation for the Comrades Ultra Marathon. All fundraised contributions go directly to CLF's "Feed-A-Family" fund.

It can and will continue to turn around lives just as I have witnessed first-hand with Maria Dlamini.

And remember, just R9 will feed a hungry parent or child for a whole day.

A small gesture for a huge cause.

Click here to donate: https://secure6.nm-secure.com/james127/content.cfm?id=330

Click here for more info on the Compassionate Life Foundation: www.james127.org

Thank you!

Yours in Running, 

Derek Van Dam