Maltese to run Zimbabwe marathon for orphanage

A 36-year-old Maltese woman, Daniela Gusman, is aiming to run the gruelling Victoria Falls Marathon in Zimbabwe, her first ever, to raise money for an orphanage in Lesotho.

She will try to raise £3,000 for the Me Neo’s Orphanage, where she does voluntary work with 34 children, aged two to 17. The run will take place on Sunday.

“I am very nervous about running my first marathon, however the fact I’m raising money for a very good cause will help me when I will no doubt hit that wall during the race. I’m sure this will give me motivation to finish,” she said.

Ms Gusman moved to Lesotho last September to work with a charity called Kick4Life, an NGO which uses the power of football to teach children about HIV prevention and essential life skills.

Lesotho has the third highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world and there are over 110,000 orphans in the country as a result the pandemic.

Ms Gusman can be sponsored by visiting her online fundraising page on www.justgiving.com/danielag, where payments can be made by credit or debit card.

The money will go directly to Kick4Life who will then forward it to the orphanage.