Norwich four fight hunger with triathlon race
Four members of the Christian community in Norwich took part in a triathlon 
at Whitlingham in July to raise money for a project in Africa.
Their efforts will help to provide water and seeds in Burkina Faso, a desperately poor country where one in four people suffers from chronic hunger.
The triathlon team were:
Clare Elkins (top right), a pastor at the New Hope Christian Centre. She is a long-distance runner, and regularly jogs in from Taverham to her work in the south of the city.
Pete Tyson (centre right), who leads youth work at Community Action Norwich. He does long-distance kayaking, and swims 100 lengths for fun.
Eldred Willey (swimming), local co-ordinator for Christian Aid. He draws inspiration from the other three.
Colin Howell, (bottom right) Missions Director at Norwich Family Life Church. He has set up a surf school in Mozambique, and got onto national news for a rowing exploit at Cromer.
 The triathlon took place at Whitlingham Broad on Sunday 5 July, including 100 competitors. The most challenging part is the swim section.
Fundraising for the project was launched in February by Melissa Ilboudo, a Christian student from Burkina Faso, who is studying International Development at the University of East Anglia. While the four are swimming through the weeds at Whitlingham, she will be seeing the work back in Burkina Faso.
The project was set up by a group of seven Evangelical churches in an arid northern area. Some 88,000 villagers will benefit from the provision of:
  treadle pumps, to extend irrigation (pictured left)
improved seed varieties which can germinate successfully in dry conditions
solar drying boxes for mangoes, which can then be marketed in distant towns
The project has won matched funding, which means that all donations will be quadrupled by the European Union.
Eldred Willey said: "All four of us have been inspired by Melissa, a young woman who is giving everything to help her people back home."
If you would like to sponsor one of the four, please let them know via an e-mail to ewilley@christian-aid.org
Or you can sponsor Eldred directly online at www.justgiving.com/eldredwilley
| 