8:00am Friday 19th March 2010
By Patrick Knox
WITH thermometer-busting temperatures, a 120km stroll across an arid African desert is no walk in the park.
But determined Basingstoke supermum Sam Mathurin said she will be taking her eight-day trek across the sweltering Namibian desert in her stride.
She said: “It is going to be hard going, with temperatures above 40 degrees, but I am enthusiastic about it and have been training hard. And at the end of the day, the cause is going to keep me going forward.
The 44-year-old, an NHS mental health support worker, of Bach Close, Brighton Hill, flew out to the Southern African country yesterday on a fundraising mission for Touching Tiny Lives.
The appeal, by children’s charity Action Medical Research, is pushing for vital medical research into curbing potentially life-threatening premature births.
The mother-of-four set out to raise £3,000 initially, but has now raised more than £3,500 in sponsorship and street collecting.
For Sam, this is a cause close to her heart. Her niece, Lisa Gouray, 17, from Newbury, struggled as a premature baby and, tragically, a good friend has also been left bereaved after losing two premature babies.
She said: “It is so heartbreaking to see tiny babies fighting for their lives.”
If you would like to donate to Sam’s challenge, visit action.org.uk/sponsor/samschallenge.
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