Volunteers are running in the Coventry Half Marathon to support the Rohingya refugees running from persecution Myanmar

Most of us will never know what it feels like to be forced to flee our homes. But for over 800,000 Rohingyans, this is the reality they have been faced with in recent years. Many of those who have had to run from their lifelong homes are now living in informal, crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, such as the notorious Cox’s Bazaar.

We might not know what it’s like to run from persecution; but that doesn’t mean we can’t run to make a difference for people who have been forced to. A group of our Team Orange fundraisers will hit the streets of Coventry on Sunday 24^th March for the Coventry Half Marathon, pounding the pavements for over 13 miles to raise money to support Rohingya refugees.

Haroon Mota, Head of Challenge Events for Penny Appeal, said: “We’re very excited to be official charity partners again. We’ve had over 100 runners participating in the last few years raising over £80,000, so it’s a big event for our calendar.

Personally I’ve run the race every year since 2011 and I love being part of such an amazing event in my home city, especially for such an important cause. If you’re wanting to do something special this year, this is a great opportunity to have a go.

Sign up online with Penny Appeal or get in touch!”

Our fundraisers are aiming to raise £10,000 to support Rohingyans living in refugee camps in Bangladesh with Penny Appeal’s programmes providing life-saving food, water, medical aid, emergency shelter and Women Friendly Spaces where women can come together to heal from the sexual violence and abuse many have suffered.

One of our amazing runners and fundraisers, Ambreen Chunara, said: “It will be the first time ever taking part in such an event. I’m running mainly to raise money for such a great cause but to also push myself and achieve a personal goal.

Running has never been my forte however I’m looking forward to the challenge. It helps that Penny Appeal have weekly training sessions at Memorial park which are easy and quite social too. It really did help motivate me to get my training underway, especially with the cold weather!”

We are an official charity partner for the Coventry Half Marathon 2019, so the charity are offering free entry to anyone who wants to run with Penny Appeal’s Team Orange.

You can still sign up to go the extra mile for Rohingya refugees, and run the Coventry Half Marathon with Penny Appeal for free, just click here or contact our Head of Challenge Events, Haroon Mota, at [email protected]