Half marathon for alQaws

Hi all

I've been enjoying running for a while now and I thought I'd give running a half marathon (21 km) a go. I don't like races so I'm going to run the distance by myself. I've never done anything like this before and so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to raise some funds for an organisation. Also, try to guess my time! Write your guess in the comment when you donate and the winner (closest to the time) will get a secret prize :)

So, by Christmas (24/12), I will run the length of a half marathon. I'm doing this to promote and raise money for a queer organisation in Palestine, alQaws.

alQaws is a community-minded organisation which works on many levels to change the realities of LGBT people in Palestine. Among other things, they run community centres, a hotline, and information campaigns, both in Jerusalem and rural areas.

I've chosen to fundraise for this organisation because I believe in supporting local, grassroot/community-centred groups. Queer people and other minorities are often forgotten in conflicts and war, or used as pawns in colonial projects. This is especially prevalent in the conflicts under Israels occupation. Supporting queer people in Palestine is a way of not only supporting their rights, health and safety as a group, but also supporting an important part of activists' anti-colonial projects.

You can read more about alQaws and their work here http://alqaws.org

To read more about how Israel uses queer identities as a neoliberal political project to divert attention from their war crimes, see these links:

https://medium.com/th-ink/what-is-israeli-pinkwash...

http://www.alqaws.org/articles/Why-We-Should-Boyco...

So - please help to promote the message and affecting real change with giving funds to an important cause.

PLEASE READ

Currently you can only donate through paypal. I'm working on making it open to credit/debit cards and will send out a message when this is ready. Also, you will have to pay in US dollars. This is to make the conversion easier to donate to the organisation after the fundraiser.

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH

Annette xxx

oppression, and challenges regulation of our sexualities and bodies, whether patriarchal, capitalist, or colonial. We work collaboratively to transform Palestinian society’s perspectives on gender and sexual diversity, homosexuality and LGBT issues, and to struggle for broader social justice.