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While traveling overland across Tanzania in 2014 I was lucky enough to visit Amani Children’s Home in Moshi. The impactful experience of hearing the stories of the children, meeting the educators and playing football with some of the kids led me to raising funds for their cause a couple of years later by completing 'the world's toughest footrace' the Marathon des Sables
My best friend’s mother was very sadly taken by this cruel disease in a very aggressive manner. She was a beautiful person, who I remember as only ever having a smile on her face and somebody who played a large role in my childhood. I wanted to try to raise funds for those who are working to find a cure for this devastating disease and supporting the families of those affected, through what I do by running The Marathon des Sables.
I have always admired the work of Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders and the people who courageously volunteer their skills and expertise to the organisation, responding with medical humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict, natural disaster, epidemics or healthcare exclusion. Founded in 1971 in Paris and today a movement of over 65,000 members worldwide, the actions of MSF are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.
Respect is a paramount value in how I live my life and I have nothing but respect and admiration for anyone trying to make a difference, big or small, in their corner of the world. The people at MADRA are those people; selfless and driven to make a difference in the lives of (1) the dogs they rescue and (2) the humans and families who adopt one of their animals. I am someone whose life has been hugely impacted by the love and presence of a dog and want to do whatever I can for others to experience that beautiful relationship of love, loyalty and joy. With the funds raised from my solo Atlantic row, MADRA were able to extend their facilities by adding the ‘Damian Browne Canine Care Unit’ to their current kennels building. I am very proud to be an ambassador for MADRA and continue to support them, their people and their mission into the future.
I have always been a curious person, fascinated by the world; an atlas my favourite book. Travel has enriched my life from family holidays as a teen up and down the beautiful West coast of Ireland to expeditions into some of the most remote and extreme environments on the planet. The rawer the travel, the closer to how the local lives day to day, the more I get from the experience. Couchsurfing.org has been an incredible resource to facilitate this draw to raw travel and the less traveled the country, the more inclined I am to use couchsurfing to explore it, its people and way of life. I couchsurfed in countries like The Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Mauritania and have nothing but fond and vivid memories of the experiences, plus plenty of stories. As my good friend Gussy Farrell and I moved between The DRC and Rwanda, I was communicating with Blaise Pascal Nkurikiyineza in Kigali about staying with him when we arrived back in Kigali. Between a very fluid schedule and some slow African travel it never materialised and we flew straight home upon reaching the Rwandan capital. However, Blaise Pascal and I kept in contact. He told me his incredible story of losing all his family one after another during the Rwandan genoside, living on the streets as a 9 year old and being eventually taken in my “an old widower”, turning his life around with education, becoming a teacher and his mission to help orphaned children like he once was. He had founded Strong Roots Organisation, a school for orphaned and vulnerable children and he needed help. The expenses of the buildings they rented and daily supplies for the children was threatening to overwhelm his admirable attempts to make a difference in the children’s lives. By raising funds for Strong Roots Foundation as one of my three official charity partners for my solo Atlantic row in 2017-18, we were able to purchase land and build them a new school in the Kamonyi District of Kigali, giving the school, children and Blaise Pascal’s mission a more secure future.
While traveling overland across Tanzania in 2014 I was lucky enough to visit Amani Children’s Home in Moshi. The impactful experience of hearing the stories of the children, meeting the educators and playing football with some of the kids led me to raising funds for their cause a couple of years later by completing 'the world's toughest footrace' the Marathon des Sables
My best friend’s mother was very sadly taken by this cruel disease in a very aggressive manner. She was a beautiful person, who I remember as only ever having a smile on her face and somebody who played a large role in my childhood. I wanted to try to raise funds for those who are working to find a cure for this devastating disease and supporting the families of those affected, through what I do by running The Marathon des Sables.
I have always admired the work of Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders and the people who courageously volunteer their skills and expertise to the organisation, responding with medical humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict, natural disaster, epidemics or healthcare exclusion. Founded in 1971 in Paris and today a movement of over 65,000 members worldwide, the actions of MSF are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.
Respect is a paramount value in how I live my life and I have nothing but respect and admiration for anyone trying to make a difference, big or small, in their corner of the world. The people at MADRA are those people; selfless and driven to make a difference in the lives of (1) the dogs they rescue and (2) the humans and families who adopt one of their animals. I am someone whose life has been hugely impacted by the love and presence of a dog and want to do whatever I can for others to experience that beautiful relationship of love, loyalty and joy. With the funds raised from my solo Atlantic row, MADRA were able to extend their facilities by adding the ‘Damian Browne Canine Care Unit’ to their current kennels building. I am very proud to be an ambassador for MADRA and continue to support them, their people and their mission into the future.
I have always been a curious person, fascinated by the world; an atlas my favourite book. Travel has enriched my life from family holidays as a teen up and down the beautiful West coast of Ireland to expeditions into some of the most remote and extreme environments on the planet. The rawer the travel, the closer to how the local lives day to day, the more I get from the experience. Couchsurfing.org has been an incredible resource to facilitate this draw to raw travel and the less traveled the country, the more inclined I am to use couchsurfing to explore it, its people and way of life. I couchsurfed in countries like The Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Mauritania and have nothing but fond and vivid memories of the experiences, plus plenty of stories. As my good friend Gussy Farrell and I moved between The DRC and Rwanda, I was communicating with Blaise Pascal Nkurikiyineza in Kigali about staying with him when we arrived back in Kigali. Between a very fluid schedule and some slow African travel it never materialised and we flew straight home upon reaching the Rwandan capital. However, Blaise Pascal and I kept in contact. He told me his incredible story of losing all his family one after another during the Rwandan genoside, living on the streets as a 9 year old and being eventually taken in my “an old widower”, turning his life around with education, becoming a teacher and his mission to help orphaned children like he once was. He had founded Strong Roots Organisation, a school for orphaned and vulnerable children and he needed help. The expenses of the buildings they rented and daily supplies for the children was threatening to overwhelm his admirable attempts to make a difference in the children’s lives. By raising funds for Strong Roots Foundation as one of my three official charity partners for my solo Atlantic row in 2017-18, we were able to purchase land and build them a new school in the Kamonyi District of Kigali, giving the school, children and Blaise Pascal’s mission a more secure future.
