Knee Ops, Pads and a cheeky Half Ironman

I am taking on the mighty Weymouth Half Ironman in September 2022, which, considering I have had 4 knee operations in my life is a pretty big deal! It involves a 1.3 mile sea swim, 56 mile bike ride, and finally a 13 mile run. When thinking about who I wanted to support for this mammoth task, my immediate thought was my fabulous friend Heather, who has set up this amazing charity Empower. She started out with a desire to help girls stay in school, and quickly realised that many girls drop out of school when they start to menstruate. The cost of pads is too high and improvised alternatives (such as leaves or even ash) are unreliable and unsanitary. Many girls do not even own knickers. Girls who have dropped out of school are vulnerable to early marriage/pregnancy and are without means to support themselves leading to child malnutrition. So, Heather decided reusable pads was what was needed, but also the education to teach the girls how to make them for themselves. £5 will pay for the materials and labour to make 4 reusable pads, a wet bag and a new pair of knickers! This gift will enable a girl to be safe and succeed during her period for the next 3 years! Heather is now being asked to travel all around the region visiting schools with her packs and educating girls, and is seeing amazing results. Just £5 would make such a difference for one girl. Every penny you give goes directly to Empower - there's no admin fee. All I've gotta do now is complete a 70.3 mile triathlon, and all the training! Wish me luck, and thanks so much everyone!