Over the course of just one year, money raised by Comic Relief supporters has..
Provided access to clean water for almost 52,000 people living in slums.
How You Change Lives
The money you raise is spent by Comic Relief to help change lives across the UK and the world's poorest countries.
Time and time again we hear what a difference your money makes from the people whose lives have been transformed. Meet a few of them here!
Mohammed
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Mohammed's dad, Unisa, was frequently faced with a horrific choice – to buy medicine for his sick child or feed the rest of his family.
The well from which the family had to collect drinking water was rife with waterborne diseases and led to them falling ill with diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery. And they weren’t alone.
Many households, living in Sierra Leone's city slums, have lost loved ones to waterborne disease, and Unisa knows the dangers all too well. "Our younger daughter died of cholera three years ago," he explains. "I took her to hospital, but she passed away within the week. I'm scared for the life of my family."
His 11-year-old son, Mohammed, frequently arrived at school sick and exhausted. "I was waking up at 4am to fetch water and spent hours walking and queuing at the well. When I was sick, I felt terrible. I didn't sleep much and I couldn’t concentrate in class."
Thankfully Sport Relief cash supports a local project that works with the slum's inhabitants to build new wells and ensure they're hygienic and chlorinated. Mohammed and his family now have clean water on their doorstep.
"The people were really excited when the water well came," remembers Mohammed. "The water is safe and no one gets diarrhoea. Now I wake up at 7am and at school I'm alert." Life is still tough in the slum, but local people like Unisa are working hard to improve the situation. Thankfully, as his family no longer need constant medical attention, he now has enough money to feed them.
Sophie
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Sophie is a gentle, warm fourteen-year-old girl who, for three long years, was persecuted at school every day by bullies. She dreaded going to school but was frightened to tell anyone why, in case it made things worse.
Sophie says: “I was an easy target for them (the bullies). They knew I was too scared to tell. In the end I had to tell my mum because I felt really in danger.”
At the same time, Sophie has been living with ADHD: a learning difficulty which makes it hard for her to communicate with people. “I don’t always say things in the right way. It makes things difficult at school because I don’t always understand what people are saying. I want to learn how to say things properly because it makes me upset if I don’t, and I feel isolated and confused. Sometimes it all feels a bit too much.”
With her confidence on the floor, Sophie started going to Teen Safe House: a project at No Limits which your Sport Relief cash helps to fund. It’s a safe place where people aged 13-19, who need extra support, can come together to make friends, have fun and rebuild their confidence.
Sophie says: “It’s completely changed my life. I can talk to adults here without worrying about what I’m saying. If I have a bad day I know I can come here and it’s better. It’s safe here.”
Sophie’s communication skills are improving and she’s enjoying going to school again. “I’m much less stressed and worried now,” she says, smiling.
Neil
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The scenes of blood and destruction, and the smell of death, will live with Neil forever.
It was a February day in 2001 when a UN bus taking older people to safety in Serbia hit a roadside explosive. Neil, then just eighteen, was part of the NATO clean-up team sent in to deal with the aftermath.
“Nothing can ever prepare you for seeing death and destruction on such an abnormal scale. It’s one thing seeing someone dying in a hospital bed and another seeing bits of people all over the place,” he says.
As a highly trained soldier in the Royal Tank Regiment his instincts were to get on with the job and push any damaging memories to the back of his mind.
When he returned home, Neil tried to hide the traumatic memories of war from his fiancée, Sammi, and their son. “I came back a different person. One minute I’d be full of the joys of life and by dinner time I’d be crying.” he says. “I know Sammi was really worried and wanted me to get help.”
Eventually, he contacted Combat Stress; an organisation that uses your Sport Relief cash to help Veterans deal with mental health problems, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since attending monthly group sessions, Neil has never looked back.
“It’s great to know you’re not alone. PTSD is like walking through a dark maze and Combat Stress give you the map and torch to find a way out. I’m 110% better since joining them. They’re fantastic.”
Sally & John
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After fifty years together, any dreams that Sally (70) and John (74) had of sharing a happy, active retirement have been shattered.
John began to suspect something was wrong with Sally in 2003, when she started struggling to map-read. Both keen walkers, this was extremely out of character for his skilful wife.
Sally was eventually diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's, and, today she needs John's help with even the simplest of tasks. It's been deeply upsetting for the couple, who had assumed they were looking forward to many contented years ahead.
One of John's greatest worries is what the future holds, "Who knows how things will unfold. The main problem is that you don’t know what is going to happen six months down the line. I'm 74 now and Sally is very fit so she will probably outlive me. It's really difficult."
Thankfully, because of your Sport Relief donations and fundraising we're able to fund The Alzheimer's Society who, for the past four years, have given Sally and John the vital support they need. The couple regularly meet friends at The Alzheimer's Society Club and enjoy taking part in activities and games that help keep their minds active.
John says, "The club is vitally important for both of us. It's the only bit of respite I get. It's been great knowing that you’re not alone."
Sunita
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Like many girls from the poorest Nepalese families, Sunita, works as a live-in domestic servant in the city. She is just nine years old.
With her mother unable to feed or school her, Sunita's family hoped she would have a better future in the home of a rich employer. It's a myth that many poor families cling to in the impoverished villages.
On call 24 hours a day, Sunita looks after a three-year-old child, cleans the house and does whatever her employer requests of her. She is one of millions of children across the world employed as domestic servants. Most are extremely isolated and have no means of going to school, which traps them into poverty. Many are physically and verbally abused.
However, thanks to Sport Relief cash, Sunita now has protection, care and a fighting chance at a better life. Supported by a social worker who negotiates with her employer to ensure she is safe, Sunita now gets a daily break from her duties to attend lessons and play.
The organisation works with the government and police to make sure employers take responsibility for protecting working children from abuse.
Sunita now feels she's in safe hands. "I like the care I get from the social workers and the methods they use to teach us. They make it fun as well as learning."
What Your Cash Can Do
Whether you’re doing the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile or any other Sport Relief fundraising, the more cash you raise, the more lives we can transform. Here are a few examples so you can show people what a difference their cash can make.
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£5
£5 could buy new clothes for a child living or working on the streets of Nepal.
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£10
£10 could give expert advice and guidance to a person living with dementia in the UK, and their carer, to improve their quality of life.
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£20
£20 could give vital medicine to 16 children in Uganda who have severe malaria so they can survive the long journey to hospital.
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£50
£50 could feed 100 vulnerable street children in India for one day.
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£100
£100 is enough to run a school for a week in Kenya - educating more than 300 children whose families are affected by HIV and AIDS.
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£200
£200 could provide two young people in Nepal with a grant to start up their own small business so that they can earn an income and escape the dire poverty they face on the streets.
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£500
£500 could provide a young carer in the UK with one-to-one support for a whole year, to help them cope with their huge responsibilities at home and keep up at school.
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£1,000
£1,000 could transform the lives of a whole community living in the slums of Kenya by giving them permanent access to clean water.
What We Do
The cash you raise for Sport Relief is spent by Comic Relief to help many people in lots of different ways.
Pay in Your Cash Now
If you've collected any fundraising cash, it's a doddle to pay it in online, in person or by post. The sooner you do, the sooner it can start transforming lives!