< Triathlon Archives – Mamie Martin Fund

Tag: Triathlon

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Our Helen is a winner!

Helen did it! She completed the incredible ROC England route in under 7 hours. She came 1st in the female 40+ category and an astonishing 3rd in the female category and 37 (out of 151) overall.

We love this photo and the champagne-spraying video on Instagram of the winners with Helen in her MMF tee-shirt.

This triathlon invoved 111 kms – swimming, cycling and running, The running included up and down Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England at 3,209 ft.

Helen trained hard and daily for this immense challenge. It clearly paid off. She has been fundraising hard too. Her employer, Barratt Developments plc, matched her first £1k, giving her total a lovely boost. Thanks to them and to all her generous donors. Her funds will support deaf girls at secondary school in Embangweni, Malawi through the Thompson Fund, managed by the Mamie Martin Fund. The Thompson Fund was set up and is being continually supported by family and friends of Jack and Phyllis Thompson, family friends of Helen.

Direct link to Helen’s fundraising page: https://tinyurl.com/Helen-ROC Remember that any suggested admin donation is by JustGiving, not MMF, so there is no need to add anything extra.

Embagweni school
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Helen does ‘The ROC’ for deaf girls’ education

“Apparently the swim is flat”

Helen Nyul will be attempting the Roc England on 2nd September by swimming, biking and running up and down Scafell Pike, totalling 111km with over 3,000 ft of elevation in one day.

Helen training in Hungary during her holiday
Embangweni school

She describes her feeling: “I like a challenge. But I am absolutely, hands down, scared of this one. Not a feeling I am used to. But what better way to meet a challenge than to make it all about someone else? The deaf girls at school in Malawi deserve equal opportunities, and I bet that my challenge pales into insignificance compared to theirs. The Thompson Fund, run by the Mamie Martin Fund, is a special charity to my Mum and Dad, and me as well. We appreciate anything you can give to help deaf girls in Malawi get a full and rewarding secondary education.”

Helen’s target is to raise enough money (£2,100) to send a deaf girl to school for all six years of her secondary education at Embangweni, Northern Malawi.

Video: The first Thompson Girls at Embangweni Secondary School, Northern Malawi

Embangweni girls
Helen Nyul

Deaf girls’ education in Malawi: Not only are girls less likely to go to secondary school than boys and are more likely to drop out, but having a disability further exacerbates issues associated with equality. Disabled girls in Malawi have been described as ‘the poorest of the poor’ in terms of access to money and opportunities. They are at the end of the line when most families make decisions about allocating resources among their children. Paying the girls’ school fees and providing other necessities allows them to get a secondary education. In recent years, two MMF girls have taken time out to have babies but have been supported back to school by Mercy Sibande, MMF’s Country Director, who worked with the families and the school to give these girls back their chances of education.

Helen’s fundraising page: https://tinyurl.com/Helen-ROC

The challenge itself: https://www.theroc.com/the-roc-england/