Hampstead and Highgate

Chair: Edward Childs
Treasurer: Rachel Douglas
Secretary: Rachel Douglas
Number of members: Executive Committee of 8 and a mailing list of around 200 Freedom from Torture supporters all living in the North West London area.

Achievements and successes:

The group has organised a number of highly successful fundraising events, including Survivor! - a wonderful event on Saturday 25 June 2011 in celebration of Refugee Week, which went off really well with a good audience, lots of emotion, fantastic singing from 3 choirs and some very moving poetry and prose pieces from the Write to Life Group; a beautiful evening of words and music as a Lenten event at St. John's Parish Church Hampstead; and a Quiz Night that was attended by over 140 people. Our aim is to have 4 or 5 such events a year and that they should have an educational and social element as well as raising funds for the cause. The Quiz Night will become an annual occasion, since it was both profitable and enjoyable, and there will be another SURVIVOR! evening of Words and Music around Refugee week 2012.

Some group members also take on their own personal fundraising challenges. Inspirational group member Rowena Harding, for example, recently undertook a gruelling series of races including the Polar Night Half Marathon and the London Ultra Marathon in aid of Freedom from Torture. Rowena only started running three years ago following a series of bereavements, using walking and then running to channel her grief into a positive force and raising heaps of money for charity in the process.

These races represented an incredible challenge but as Rowena pushed herself to her absolute limits she was thinking of Freedom from Torture's clients and their own journeys and experiences, and their immense courage spurred her on. Read more about why Rowena has been inspired by Freedom from Torture by clicking here.

If you'd like to join us or have any suggestions or offers of help do please get in touch with us: Ted Childs <tedchilds@btinternet.com> or Rachel Douglas rachel.douglas@mac.com