How many bottles of water does it take to hydrate the Flora London Marathon? No idea? Well, read on and you'll find out!

In Cambodia, most people don?t have access to clean drinking water and a charity called Tabitha is trying to do something about it. Tabitha is run by Janne Ritskes and was founded, by her, 12 years ago. In that time she has worked tirelessly to help the poor of Cambodia. These people had everything taken from them by the Pol Pot regime - and I don't just mean possessions. They were stripped of their self-esteem, confidence, pride, dignity - EVERYTHING. Their people were decimated by a regime which promoted enforced starvation, mass executions, slave labour and wholesale disclocation to such a degree that the social, moral and economic fibre of the country was left in tatters. Janne is helping to restore all of these things, but it takes a long time.

The 'Wells for Life' program started in 2002 when one of her staff died from Hepatitis B, which was aggravated by drinking dirty water. The response to his death was to create a positive out of something negative - getting fresh water for the families in the communities that work for Tabitha (99% of whom have no access to clean potable water). The impact of these wells was immediate. There was a significant decrease in bouts of diarrhoea and skin infections. Children and adults started to gain weight, skin tones improved, eyes lost that 'haunted' look, and their ability to work improved by several hours per day. This led to a second, very noticeable impact - the increase in income, which gave families the chance to plant a small vegetable garden for their own consumption. Excess produce was then sold providing a much needed daily income. The wells allowed each family to further increase their income. One group of 5 families were able to raise and sell 5 pigs. Each piglet cost them $50 and they were sold for $375 only 4 months later.

The cost of each well for materials and drilling is only £60, and I am raising money for this project by running the Flora London Marathon 2006, on 23rd April. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DIG DEEP FOR WATER. The brilliant thing about it for you, is that there will be NO SWEAT, NO BLISTERS, NO TEARS - LEAVE ALL OF THESE TO ME - BUT THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF WATER. To remind me of what I am running for, Vittel have very kindly supplied around 1,000,000 (yes, that?s right, 1 million) bottles of water to be handed out on the day, so that I won't forget. You, on the other hand, can just sit back and watch, knowing that you have helped provide water for hundreds, if not thousands, of people who do need it. How easy is that!

SO GO ON - HOW DEEP CAN YOU DIG? We are all so lucky - just think the next time you turn the tap to fill the kettle, run a bath or just get a glass of water. Our is instant - so could theirs be.

Any amount will be greatly appreciated. Cheques should be made payable to Tabitha UK and forwarded to me at Woodside, Ladygate Drive, Grayshott, Surrey GU26 6DR.

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITE AT: www.tabithauk.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Annick Hollins