Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES
Picture

LATEST STORIES

Click to donate

Chichester Observer press cutting: 'Barefoot Ben'

29/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Ben keeps his feet firmly on the ground

21/8/2013

0 Comments

 
PictureBen bares those toes on a training run when visiting our project in Uganda.
Would you fancy running across all terrains with no shoes on? Not many people are likely to try it, but our Head of UK,  Ben Wilkes is all set for a the challenge when he runs barefoot in this year’s Chichester Half Marathon on October 13th.

Here at Children on the Edge we are organising the Chichester Half in conjunction with Chichester District Council. The event is in its second year after a highly successful revival last October. 


Entrants for this year’s race have been pouring in since registration opened in April. As far as we know, Ben is the only entrant running barefoot, but he’d like to see that change: 

“Running barefoot ‘style’ has helped me run quicker and without my old injuries flaring up” Ben explains. “The minimalist shoes out there are good, but the real exhilarating experience is when you take them off and just run. Will I be the first person to run the Chi half barefoot? I hope not. I hope on Oct 13th there are a few of us lining up and if that happens, I’m sure I wont be the first one to finish!”.

Barefoot or ‘natural’ running is a rarity, however it did became more prominent over 50 years ago when Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome, with no shoes on, after realising that the Olympic shoe supplier had run out of shoes in his size! A few years later British Bruce Tulloh won the European gold medal and most famous was Zola Budd who raced and trained barefoot with a good degree of success in the 80s.

More recently barefoot running has been on the rise with the production of thin-soled shoes or ‘Five Fingers’ for ‘minimalist running’ and with the popularity of Christopher McDougall’s bestseller ‘Born to run’ which promotes the benefits of ditching your running shoes and going back to how you are naturally made to run.

Ben has received so much interest in this running method that he’s started a blog about his training progress.

“I think Running barefoot round Chichester has lowered people’s gaze rather than raised eyebrows.  As soon as they see me coming and realise I’m not wearing shoes, their eyes seem to fix on my feet. 
When chatting to people about barefoot running, the same questions often come up.  The most common is ‘what about all the dog poo and broken glass?’. My response: I step over it when wearing shoes and running barefoot doesn’t change that!”

You can follow Ben’s blog at
www.chihalf.co.uk/barefoot-blog but more importantly, you can still sign up for the Chichester Half (you don’t have to run it barefoot!). Simply go to www.chihalf.co.uk.

It’s a beautiful route which includes a mixture of road, cross country and cycle path terrain and the event raises vital funds for all our projects, which work to restore the ingredients of a full childhood to some of the world’s most forgotten children. 






0 Comments

Young refugees in Thailand - Migrating and moving forward

13/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
This week sees the 2013 UN International Youth Day, and this year the theme is ‘Youth Migration: Moving Development forward’.

Not only is the day focussing on raising awareness about the issues facing young migrant people, but the UN is launching their
2013 report on Youth Migration and Development, which is planned to be a ‘multidimensional account of the life experiences of young migrants and young people affected by migration’.

Although sometimes when we think of children we tend to think of the little tots, the UN’s definition of a child is anyone under the age of 18 and we believe every child has the right to a childhood, including the teenagers!

At the Child Crisis Centre in Mae Sot, Thailand which we support, there are 72 migrant children that have escaped persecution in neighboring Burma, most arriving without their parents. Many of the children at the Centre are in their teens, so it’s not just education and play we’re focussing on.. but subjects that relate specifically to the 11-18’s age group.

To do this we have bought in a trained facilitator who helps the young people discuss team work, resolving conflicts, understanding their bodies, expressing emotions, how to have self confidence and how to set and achieve goals.

Yeye Win, the head caregiver in the Centre has noticed a marked improvement in the confidence of the young people involved in this programme, observing that children attending the training have become more willing to speak with staff about their thoughts and concerns. She has also seen improvement in conflict resolution and teamwork amongst the children.

Saewin is 15. Lack of food for he and his five siblings caused them to flee Burma when he was 13. He feels the team building activities have improved the togetherness of the teens at the Centre and he particularly enjoyed the task of planning their own picnic with a budget to buy their own food.

Yadanar Phoo has just turned 18 and has been at the Centre for 5 years. She has also migrated from Burma. After all she’s been through, she describes how the development course has helped her to handle stress and relax. She loved the stretching yoga exercises they learned and says she feels better prepared to handle the stresses of life now.  Yadanar Phoo is also using methods from the ‘how to set goals’ discussion to begin to plan for her life after the CCC.

We’re delighted to be seeing these young migrant people moving on and preparing for their futures. Not only this, but the project as a whole is also strengthening and nearing the time where it can run independently. Find out more about the work in
Thailand, and consider donating to our work. 


0 Comments

Burma, still a long way to go.

7/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow is currently in Burma and this morning (7.8.2013) addressed an audience at Rangoon University. The speaker is on a working visit with other MPs to Burma.

The visit which includes a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein marks the next stage of support by the UK House of Commons for Burma’s democratic journey. 

The speech clearly identifies the challenges that Burma faces and the long road it still has to travel before the respect of human rights and democracy can truly be considered to exist in this country.

To read the speech click here.
0 Comments
    Picture

    RECEIVE OUR EMAILS

    Blog Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Child Participation
    Child Protection Team
    Child Rights
    Child Sacrifice
    Coronavirus
    Dalit
    Digital Education
    Early Childhood Development
    Education Loans
    Fundraising
    General
    #GetToKnowUs
    History
    Hope
    Humanitarian Relief
    India
    Kachin
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Postcode Lottery
    Protective Environments
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Schools
    Storytellers
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Ukraine
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011



    RSS Feed

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Click to donate

Get Involved

Corporate Partnerships
​
​Email updates
Fundraise 
Give Monthly
Grant Giving Organisations
​The Body Shop At Home
Volunteer

aBOUT US

Who We Are
​​​How  We Spend Your Money
Latest Stories
​Our Story
​​Our Work
Accessibility  | Annual Report  | Contact Us | Jobs | Media Centre | ​Privacy Policy | Resources | ​Safeguarding | Shop | ​Strategic Partners 
For raffle ticket holders | Take Part | Rules and Prizes | Complaints | Responsible Gambling ​
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES