WATCH: Brendan runs coast to coast in Africa for Walmer Bridge charity FOMO

Brendan Rendall ran across Africa for FOMO charity in Walmer Bridge

Brendan Rendall completed the 2,474-mile challenge from Namibia to Mozambique in 98 days for a boys hostel for Friends of Mulanje Orphans (FOMO), a charity set up by Keith and Mary Woodworth from Walmer Bridge.The 40-year-old, who works in special needs provision for Manchester schools, first began raising funds for the charity after he visited the FOMO site in Malawi in 2009.In 2016 he raised Â£35,000 to build an arts and science block to extend the existing secondary school in Mulanje, by being the first person to run the length of Malawi.Now, he is almost half way to reaching a new total of Â£75,000 for the boys accommodation in Malwai.

Brendan said: “Five days before the end, I caught a parasite infection and spent three days on a drip. I lost seven days, so although I took 98 days, I only ran 91 days.“I was supported by a small team from FOMO and we camped. We just turned up at a village, asking if we could camp and we were greeted by kindness of strangers. They were all taken aback by the fact I was doing this epic run, combatting extreme temperatures of 41 degrees. They were so grateful that I was doing the run to help the most vulnerable children in the world. “Communities in Zambia and Namibia were grateful but couldn’t understand why I wasn’t helping them. “Children from Namibia and Mozambique walk 5km to school so they ran with me. The kindness and the things I saw were so epic it will take a long time to process it.”Brendan’s adventure has so far raised Â£34,467 and he is hoping more donations will flood in.He added: “Although we need Â£75,000, we are only Â£5,000 off from being able to start the first block of the school accommodation.“I am sure once people see that being built, they will donate more.“This is a big project that will house 88 vulnerable orphans. Education is the key to helping them out of poverty.”Brendan, who lives in Salford Quays, was named Trail Running Ambassador for #Run1000miles in 2018 and won both Sporting Hero and The Gold Award at the Somerset I Believe Awards where he is originally from.He added: “I will be delivering talks about my experience, with a view to getting more donations.”To make a donation visit http://www.brendanrendall.com or http://www.fomo.co.uk.