Made With Hope

Hi guys,

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my blog and to read it.

A few posts ago I wrote about a beautiful charity that I like to help out with called Made With Hope which was founded by the lovely Eleanor. I just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update with their progress since my last post and help spread the work about the wonderful work that they do.

I mentioned in my previous post that Made With Hope were now looking for funds to help build a school along with the orphanage that they have already built. I'm really pleased to say that building work on the school has now started and the locals are working really hard on building the school. Of course none of this is possible without people donating generously towards the cause and the hard work that goes on behind the scenes from Eleanor as well as her volunteers who have worked amazingly hard to make the charity as successful as it is today.

Below are some of the pictures of the locals who are helping helping to build the school at the moment:





I have to say I think this is a really special achievement by Made With Hope because it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, time effort and commitment to try and make a dream a reality. But I guess you could say these pictures are showing that dreams can become realities. First of all it was Eleanor's dream that she could help to provide the facilities that these young children need in order to try and establish a fulfilling life for themselves and to give them opportunities they probably never thought they could have. Secondly it is the dream of the children themselves to be given those opportunities because a school and an education can help a child better themselves in the long run. Education is very important and I really like the fact the Made With Hope are striving so hard to help provide this!

Another thing that Made With Hope has introduced since my last blog post is an orphan sponsor scheme which has worked really well so far. Made With Hope have managed to secure 24 donors to help sponsor all the children they have in their care. This includes helping to provide for their food, accommodation and education. The sponsorship scheme has also created the chance to get to know the orphans that we have sponsored and this can be done by sending letters to them as well as presents. Eleanor is planning to visit the orphanage within the next month or 2 and lots of the donor have given presents and letters to the children they sponsor. Below is picture of Eleanor and the team who have packaged all the lovely gifts together.



This project is another aspect of Made With Hope that I know Eleanor and the team have put a lot of effort into and it is fantastic to know that all the orphans have been sponsored. From this picture I think that is also very nice to see other children involved too!

Another project that Made With Hope have undertaken since my last article was working with a class full of 8 year olds at Hudsfield Primary School in which they did a project. The class did a sponsored walk for Made With Hope's Water is Life project. The children of Y3/4 at Hurdsfield Primary school in Macclesfield, Cheshire did a sponsored walk carrying a 2 litre bottle of water to represent the struggles some children have ...collecting and carrying water each day in Africa. Their amazing efforts raised £150 to buy a water filter to provide clean safe drinking water for children in the rural village of Nadasoito, Tanzania, Africa. Not only have these children done something amazing and raised £150 for Made With Hope, I really like this project because of what it can teach our children here in the UK. It teaches us love, compassion, empathy, not to take things we have for granted and to always look after those who are less fortunate then ourselves. If we can teach these qualities to our children then I hope the world will become a more prosperous, peaceful and better place. For more information on this project please click here http://www.madewithhope.org/hurdsfield-primary-school-raise-money-for-safe-water/

Another project they have done is about Sanitation which can be a huge problem as they can cause fatal diseases such as Diarrohea and for small children whose bodies are not strong enough to fight them this can make it even harder. To try and prevent them from contacting these diseases Made With Hope have built a washroom containing 4 toilets and 4 showers which gives the children a safe and private place to use. For more information on this project please click here http://www.madewithhope.org/sanitation/

I didn't mention this on my previous post but one of the things the I really like about Made With Hope is the name of the charity itself but in particular the word hope. Lots of people need hope at one point or other in their lives and hope is what a beautiful charity like Made With Hope is continuously offering. Through the hard work of Eleanor, the volunteers and staff in Tanzania and importantly our supporters. hope is what they are all helping to give the children. Hope for a better life for them in future, hope they will achieve their dreams and hope for an education. I believe every good action undertaken by the charity. I believe that hope is at the forefront of every action this charity carries out.

Below I have listed the contact details for Made With Hope if you guys have any questions or want any further information. Donations can be made via the Made With Hope website or via the Facebook page. Even if you can't donate then please help support Made With Hope by liking them on Facebook, following them on Twitter and Instagram and helping to spread the word about this wonderful charity.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadeWithHope/?fref=ts
Twitter: @MadeWithHopeUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madewithhope/
Website: http://www.madewithhope.org/

Thanks for reading guys.

Faisal

#justgoforawalk

Hi guys,

Thank you again for visiting my blog.

A few of you may know from my first few blog posts on this blog that I have suffered from mental health issues before. Mental health is a subject that I feel very passionate about mainly because of what I have been through in the past and it has made me have an understanding of what it can be like living with a mental health issue as the struggles that can come with it.

I often post tweets on Twitter relating to mental health and take part in mental health chats to try and see if I can offer support and compassion to those who need it. One of the chats that I have been involved in on the last couple of weeks is #TalkMH . The chat was going relatively well until one person commented that "just go for a walk". For a person who has mental health issues a comment like that can be incredibly insulting because mental health is real and it exists and it doesn't get cured by just going for a walk.

The fact of the matter is that going for a walk can help in the short term as it may help clear your head but in the long term it doesn't because the mental health issues are still there when you get back. I guess however before I had my issues regarding mental health I could have thought exactly the same thing but that would have been due to my own ignorance and lack of understanding. Since I have experienced mental health myself I have understood it a lot better. It just goes to show that stigma still exists but I was very proud of the way the mental health community reacted and the support they showed. It was incredible to see the response and the way everyone came together to let this person know that mental health doesn't get cured by just going for a walk. Not only that the way mental health community supported each other was fantastic. I'm very proud to be part of the mental health community on Twitter.

One thing I feel that it does emphasise though is the need for education. I feel the mental health community need to educate others what it is like to live with a mental health condition. Not only that I think other people who don't have mental health conditions can educate themselves and I have listed below a few tips of how they can do this:

1. Read established books about mental health
2. Read blogs about mental health
3. Ask relevant and informative questions and engage in discussion anyone you know who suffers from a mental health condition so that you can gain understanding. Some people with mental health issues are so friendly so please don't be afraid to ask!
4. Take part in the #TalkMH or #Mhchat chat on Twitter just as long as you are sensitive and go in there with an open mind and do be hurtful or insulting. #Mhchat takes place on Wednesdays at 8pm and #Talkmh takes place on Thursdays 8:30pm

If any of you want to know anything more about mental health you guys are more then welcome to leave comments here or contact me on Twitter @falidude

Finally I just want to leave you with this link to an awesome Youtube video that Rich put on in response to #justgoforawalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjQfnGM34Y. If any of you guys would like to follow Rich you can do on Twitter @RichBiscuit21. The link also takes you to his Google + page.

Thanks for reading guys and I hope you found this post useful and have a good weekend.

Faisal

Bolton half marathon

Hi guys,

Thank you again for visiting my page and I hope you are all well.

Yesterday was a pretty tiring and eventful day. It started off by me waking around 7:30am in order to get the taxi to the train station at 8:15 in preparation for the Bolton half marathon that was meant to start at 10am. I was quite eager for the race.

I got to Bolton around 9:20 and I made the short trip from the train station to the starting point which was only a few minutes away. The first thing that struck me was that it was fairly quiet for a half marathon but I guess that was either because it was Bolton's first in around 30 years or that there were loads of other races going on over that weekend such as the Wigan 10k.

I also met my fellow Red Rose Road Runner Sarah who was also at the race and it was nice to see a familiar face there and we wished each other well. The standard runner does a pre-race trip to the loo and the queues are normally ages and it was no different here. Met a guy called Steve and he told me about how amazing the Soleus GPS watches are. Might need to invest in one of these bad boys.

The race started bang on 10am and we crossed the starting line. The long race had began and it was time to get going. I had not had a look at the route beforehand but there was a slight hill even on the first mile. Most of my fellow runners including myself tend to hate running up hills and I thought put the hills at the end.

My body was already beginning to hurt but I don't think it was because of the hill because it hurted before that but I carried on through the pain and I eventually found a good rhythm and my pace was good too. As we turned the corner and ran towards river there was 2 huge downward hills and I thought yes love downward hills. I tried to run a bit faster on these parts to pick up the speed and that was one of the best parts of the race. I didn't know at that point that we would have to run back up them on the 11th mile.

Running by the river was amazing. Some of you may know that I also love nature and the outdoors so the view to me was scenic and beautiful which made that part of the race quite enjoyable for me. We had passed the 3rd mile and just a few hundred yards down I saw a sign saying 10 miles so I knew they had planned the route to come back along the same way.

The race carried on and we had a few more small hills. For a runner a small hill can however seem like a mountain but I guess it can make you realise how mentally tough you can be. We got to the 6th mile and I was looking forward to getting at least half way through and we were only half a mile away. At the point I was still running at a good rhythm and good pace but was unsure whether or not I would be able to carry this on over the second half of the race.

From somewhere I managed to keep the same pace and as we approached the 9th mile I checked the time and it was 11:37 and I could really beat my personal best here (pb). My previous pb was 2 hours 30 mins so I had 53 mins to run 4.1 miles. I was confident but I also know how races can take unexpected turns and sometimes your body can totally run out of energy. I was determined to get the pb. I was determined to get one at the start of the race but now I believed I could do it.

Along we went by the river again past the 10 miles sign that I previously saw and the woman behind me commented it's just a parkrun now. For anyone who doesn't know parkrun is a 3 mile run that takes place on a Saturday morning up and down the country. Mentally this helped me and gave me some encouragement that the end was near.

Now my legs were feeling very painful and by now I had resorted to going at a gentle slow jog pace but I was determined not to stop as I had not stopped once during the whole race even on the hills. I even asked the marshalls where mile 11 was because by now I wanted the race to end. The long run along the river had now ended and now it was time to tackle the 2 big hills that we had previously seen at the start with a smaller hill before. To be honest I didn't know whether or not I would have been able to carry on with the gentle jog up these hills without stopping but I wanted to give it my best and wanted to try. With some grit and determination I got to the top without stopping but my legs were very tired but the hard part was over and now it was flat or downhill. I just knew that I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was hard but I kept going.

Got passed the 12 mile and there was only 1.1 miles left. Nearly there! I realised we were probably heading back in the same direction which meant another downward hill. I was looking forward to the finish now. A few mins from the finish line, saw a Cafe Nero and thought post race refreshment is now sorted. Love the frapes there but had a milkshake this time.

As I passed Cafe Nero there was only a few hundred yards left and turned the corner into the finishing straight and I was trying to get the crowd to raise the noise as I normally like to do but as I crossed the finishing line I saw the time and I was completely shocked 2 hours 19 mins but my official finishing time was 2 hours 18 mins as I had started the race near the middle/end of the crowd which meant I was slightly delayed. Had my hands on my head completely stunned and shocked but so happy. I thought I would have been happy beating my pb by a few mins but 12 mins was quite overwhelming. I had a huge smile on my face and it actually made quite emotional in a happy way. No I didn't cry by the way.

I also saw Sarah again after the race and she also got a pb and I was so pleased for her and she had done amazing too and I was happy to share the moment with another team member!

One thing runners tend to like is a bit of bling aka the medal at the end and here is a pic.


To top the day off I also had an event in Manchester which I ended up getting lost on the way to the venue made me late but looking back now it was pretty funny.

All in all a tiring day but I was glad to be out and about.

Thanks for reading guys. Feel free to leave any comments.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @falidude

Faisal

Running better

hi guys,

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my blog.

It has been a couple of weeks now so thought I would give you guys an update about how the running has been going as well as a few other things.

Last time I blogged it was the end of Ramadan and it has taken now I have fully got back into the swing of running again with my amazing club Lancashire Red Rose Road Runners as well as doing some parkruns on the weekend. The first few sessions were really tough. I guess this could be a combination of not running for a few weeks as well as the heat.

1 run we did on a Tuesday evening a few weeks ago was on the hottest day of the year so far. Whilst I was out with the club towards the end I was counting down the miles until we got back to base. It was  a struggle. It felt like it was harder then a marathon and it was only around 5 or 6 miles. However there is also a positive as it made me realise how mentally tough and stubborn I can be.

I'm really enjoying getting back into exercise after Ramadan. Had a few gym sessions and have even been to a few classes. Went to a spinning class last week, just before running with the club. I was a bit apprehensive to go as I thought I could be shattered at running but I was determined at the same time.  After spinning I quickly got the bus down to the leisure centre to meet with the group and off we went. For the first 10-15 minutes I struggled and I presumed that was because of the spinning class but then all of a sudden I felt lots of power, strength and energy in my legs and I ran really well. Up until that point it was one of the best training runs I've done. I don't know whether or not it was due to spinning just before but even as I'm writing this post I'm thinking where did that run come from? We did around 6 miles and it felt amazing at the end.

Following on from that I also went to our Thursday session and it was more of the same. On Thursday we normally have 3 distances short, medium and long. Went for medium but again started at moderate pace but towards the end it really picked up and again I was really happy. The same thing happened yesterday at running too. I hope I manage to keep this up.

Some of you who have read my previous blog posts may remember Sarah who I am planning to run a marathon with next year. Sarah has also been doing amazingly well in her training and just ran 14km which I think roughly equates to 8 miles. She is well on the way and is doing amazingly well. As mentioned in my previous blog posts myself, Sarah and Luke are planning to do the marathon for the Four Legged Orphan Sanctuary (Flos) who look after animals who have been mistreated and abandoned in Morocco.

If any of you wish to sponsor myself, Sarah and Luke please check out the gofundme link below. I have also included the website link from the charity. Feel free to check that out too.

https://www.gofundme.com/flosmarathon

http://www.flosanimals.com/

Along with the marathon I am also planning to do the 3 peaks (also for Flos) with a former colleague of mine Michelle and another group. Michelle has decided to raise some money for Rosmere Cancer Foundation for personal reasons. Cancer is 1 of those illnesses which is commonly heard of and has affected a large number of people and fundraising is vital to help those who are suffering with cancer as well as their loved ones. Michelle is also a great girl guys so if any of you wish to donate please check the justgiving link below and show your support. I have also included the link to Rosmere Cancer Foundations page if you wish to find out more information about the charity.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Michelle-Iddon6?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Michelle-Iddon6&utm_campaign=https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Michelle-Iddon6?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Michelle-Iddon6&utm_campaign=pfp-sharepfp-share

http://www.rosemere.org.uk/

Thanks again for all your amazing support guys. I hope to keep you all updated soon.

If any of you wish to follow me on Twitter you can do here @falidude

Back on the running

Hi guys,

Hope you are all well and thank you again for viewing my blog.

I'm hoping to start running again tomorrow as Ramadan has now finished. I'm really excited but kind of nervous as I haven't been running for approximately 6 weeks but i'm just aiming to give it my best shot and see how it goes.

I feel like with running i've found a really good hobby. However it isn't the running that I mainly enjoy although I do like to keep fit. I really enjoy the social aspect that I get through running with my club (Lancashire Red Rose Road Runners) as they have always been an amazing supportive bunch. I'm hoping to see all the old and new faces again on my return. On Thursday's you have the choice of doing 3 distances and i'm even tempted to do the longer distance which is meant to be nearly 8 miles tomorrow.

I need to get back into the swing of things with regards to fitness as I have a lot of events planned in the near future. I'm planning to do the 3 peaks challenge with a group of people including a former colleague of mine called Michelle, Preston 10k run, Manchester half marathon, Bolton half marathon and a marathon next year with the lovely Sarah which I have mentioned on a previous blog post. I'm really looking forward to them all but the 3 peaks challenge in particular as this is something i've been wanting to do for a long time.

I am planning to do all these events in aid of a beautiful charity called FLOS which stands for Four Legged Orphan Sanctuary which looks after and helps abandoned animals in Morroco and Sarah has also mentioned that she is planning to do a few 10k runs in the build up as it will be her first marathon and she has already started training so please support us by donating and sharing the following link. https://www.gofundme.com/flosmarathon

That is all for now guys but I hope to keep you guys updated soon :)

Twitter @falidude

Eid day

Hi guys,

Thank you again for taking the time to view my blog and read my posts. I really appreciate it.

Yesterday was the of Eid which muslims across the world are due to the end of the fasting period for Ramadan. Muslims celebrate Eid twice a year. 1 is called Eid Ul Fitr which muslims believe to be a reward for fating throughout Ramadan and the other is know as Eid Ul Adhaa which takes place during the season of pilgrimage. Eid beautiful time in the Muslim calendar as it is a time for families to get together and celebrate this day of happiness that God has given to us.

Eid is a day in which we have been taught to spread kindness amongst our fellow human beings. Muslims are commanded to give an extra special form of charity before the Eid Ul Fitr prayer. This is so that those people who live in poor countries also can enjoy the day of Eid  It is a day of happiness. The day normally starts off with the normal early morning prayer which at the moment is around 4:30am. Thereafter people tend to go home and get ready for the Eid prayer by wearing their nicest clothes, having a shower and eating something sweet.

The Eid prayer normally takes place around 9am and it is a great time to see the mosques so full as Eid is 1 point throughout the year that everyone in the local community comes together and celebrates Eid together amongst friends and family.

Before the Eid prayer there is normally a sermon which is delivered by the imam and quite often the sermon relates to all the good actions that muslims tend to undertake during the month of Ramadan. Many people associate Ramadan with the month of fasting and rightly so, however we often find that muslims during Ramadan undertake lots of other different forms of worship which they don't normally do. The sermon normally reminds us to keep up all the good work that we have undertaken during Ramadan.

After the Eid prayer lots of people tend to visit the cemetery to remember their loved ones and those who have passed away before this. I feel this is a very important thing to do as we can also visit them on Eid but at the same time reflect on the true meaning of life and what life is about.

During the afternoon is the time where families normally get together and sit down and have a meal. This tends to be a special time for some families as in some cases the whole extended family is invited and you get to see people who sometimes you don't see for a quite a while but again, families getting together and celebrating together is part of what Eid is about.

In the evening a person may visit another member of his family and see some of his friends and eat with them also. I really enjoy Eid as it is a day full of celebrations and celebrating with those who you love and those who love you.

A busy weekend with CLASP and run Part 2

Hi guys,

Thank you again for visiting my blog and reading this post.

I'm sorry it has taken me nearly a month to write part 2 of this article but now I feel ready to complete this part of the story.

As I mentioned on my previous post that the day after the 10 miles walk with CLASP I had arranged to do the Chester Half Marathon with 2 members of running club that I attend called Emma and Maggie.

Some of you may be able to tell from my previous posts that recently I have developed a passion for running and even though I only got back from London pretty late the night before I was really looking forward to it. Part of the reason I was looking forward to it is because Chester is a city that I have never previously visited before even though it isn't very far from where I live but I was looking forward to seeing Chester and having a new experience.

It was a very early start to the day as I had arranged to meet Emma and Maggie at 7am in the morning which meant I had to be up around 6:15am to leave the house for 6:50am to meet them at 7am. Most of you who know me will probably know waking up early isn't 1 one of my strongest points as I massively like my lie ins, but I guess in some ways the earlier start can help you have a more productive day.

Once I met up with Emma and Maggie the 3 of us set off to drive down to Chester and the 3 of us were really looking forward to running. I just remember feeling excited because it must be something special for me to have that amount of energy that I felt I had that early on a Sunday morning.

As we drove into Chester I remember thinking how beautiful it was and I was reflecting on what sights I would see on the run. The car was parked near a local gym which was around a 15 mins walk to the start line and that gave me the chance to explore Chester a little bit more as we made our way to the start line.

Once we got to the start line I got the familiar feeling. I am always totally amazed to see how many people are intending to run. The starting pen was absolutely cramped with people and it is like you have to walk at nearly a snails pace to make it to the starting line but I see that as a good thing as it just adds more fun and excitement to the atmosphere in my opinion.

Just before the race started I heard someone commenting that it would be a flat race. That is like music to the ears of most runners who like me absolutely hate hills with a passion. The race started and that familiar tingling feeling started that I normally get when starting a race of excitement and nerves. The first couple of mins were flat but I remember seeing a hill and I was like Oh no I thought it was meant to be flat. It's hard running up hills and it does take a lot of strength and stamina but in the end it is good for the legs. Somehow by the end of the hill I still managed to keep on jogging for quite a while.

After the hill we got to see part of Chester Town Centre. I was quite impressed by how good it was. I didn't expect it to be that good with Chester being such a small city but I enjoyed doing a little bit of shopping there after the race was done. I think runners deserve a little retail therapy after a run like that haha.

I managed to keep a steady pace for the next few miles but around half way through the pace began to drop off a little as I was hitting "The Brick Wall" as the runners say. I was now at the point where the legs felt like they were stopping and starting. This is the part of the race where you just think it is about sticking in there and getting through it and not giving up at all. However I still see it as an advantage because it makes you realise how mentally strong you can be to cope with all the pain and come out the other side and achieve what you wanted to.

Around 9 miles in I was beginning to really look forward to the finishing line and it felt like the countdown to the end was really on. I along with a few other people just wanted the race to finish and to get through it. However the thought went through my head of just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Each step is a step closer to the finish.

We had just past mile 11 or mile 12 and there was a huge hill towards the end of the race. I was like Oh My God. A hill at the end of the race. I struggled with the hill and the beginning and now we have a hill at the end too. But again I still see that as an advantage because it shows how strong a person can be.

Towards the end me and another girl kept overtaking one another as we both had to slow down so many times. This happened from about mile 8 onwards and I lost count of the amount of times one of us had overtaken the other. However just as we turned the last corner of the last mile it turns out we both ended the race together.

That familiar feeling of relief came when the race ended and I was looking for Emma and Maggie who finished before me. I was still delighted with the time that I got which was around 2 hours 32 mins. Emma and Maggie both did amazing and they both finished around 2 hours 10 which is fabulous as it was the first half marathon for both of them and they both did incredible and amazing.

I then decided to have a little look around Chester town before I decided to head back home and to top off a really good weekend I ended up back at one of my favourite cafes back in Preston called Mystery Tea House. All in all a busy, productive and fabulous weekend.

I have also signed up to do some more races over the next couple of months. Just signed up to do the Blackpool 10k today, Bolton half marathon and Manchester half marathon. These are all in the build up to the Brighton marathon which I plan to run in April next year with a lovely lady called Sarah.

Sarah is a former colleague of mine and she messaged me on Facebook asking if I wanted to help raise money for an aminal sanctuary that she helps to support in Morroco called FLOS (Four Legged Animal Sactuary). I was so touched when I received that message that I found it impossible to say no and i'm really looking forward to working with both Sarah and the charity now to try and raise as much money as possible so expect a donation page on this blog soon.

FLOS are a beautiful charity who offer love, care and support to animals that have been abandoned in Morroco and i'm looking forward to working with both Sarah and the charity to try and raise as much money as possible. For more information please visit the charity website here http://www.flosanimals.com/

Again I don't want to turn this into an essay so I think I will end the post here.

Thank you very much again for reading guys and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

For more updates feel free to follow me on Twitter @falidude