Forward Maisokwadzo is a man with a mission. Forward is an exiled Zimbabwean journalist who is running this year’s Bristol Half Marathon to raise money for Bristol City of Sanctuary’s “Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary” project and for the Hardship Fund which supports destitute sanctuary seekers in the city.
Forward knows what it feels like to run for safety – he knows what it means to have to abandon your home and seek sanctuary far away. It’s an experience as old as history, but its growing frequency challenges our humanity to keep pace with the globalised world we live in today.
Since arriving in Bristol, Forward has become development worker for Bristol City of Sanctuary, seeing it through to its triumphant launch in June 2011. Now Forward is raising funds for the next stage. He’s running the Half Marathon in September to raise funds for, and awareness of, a new initiative, Schools & Colleges of Sanctuary – and for the Hardship Fund administered by Bristol Refugee Rights, Red Cross Bristol Office and Refugee Action.
A School or College of Sanctuary is one that is committed to being a safe and welcoming place for people whose lives are in danger in their own country. This means that it helps its students, staff and wider community to understand what it means to be seeking sanctuary, and to extend a welcome to everyone as equal, valued members of the school community. It is a school or college that is proud to be a place of safety and inclusion for all. Full details can be found at https://www.cityofsanctuary.org/node/1683
Forward is running the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday 30th September 2012. He hopes you will get behind him and the project. You can support Schools & Colleges of Sanctuary by donating through GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/Schools-of-Sanctuary-Run and crucially by telling your friends. Tell them what a huge impact their help can have on the lives of sanctuary seekers in need.
Other options are to donate directly to our HSBC bank account:
Account Name: Bristol City of Sanctuary
Account No: 52603306
Sort code: 40-14-13
– or to send a cheque made payable to Bristol City of Sanctuary to Bristol City of Sanctuary, c/o Refugee Action, Unit 43, Easton Business Centre, Bristol BS5 0HE.
We would really appreciate any contribution you can make towards these
worthwhile causes. We have been officially recognised as a city of
sanctuary-now is the time to make sure that our city deserves that title.
Please do what you can to help and contribute in
making Bristol a real city of sanctuary!
