A GROUP of mothers in Olveston will be slipping on their running shoes next month in aid of Bangladeshi slum dwellers.

The athletic team of six have reinstated the defunct village school’s annual family Fun Run and rallied the support of sportsmen and women, young and old, to help raise funds for the charity Arban UK.

The challenge, due to take place on Sunday, April 29, will consist of two races: a one-kilometre race around the school field for children and another for all ages covering five kilometres of footpaths and bridleways.

Saffia Bullock, one of the run’s organisers, set up Arban UK following a trip to Bangladesh in 2010.

She returned to her home in Tockington transformed by the experience and, along with her husband and their friends, created a British antenna to a Bangladeshi organisation dedicated to improving the living-conditions of the country’s slums.

The mother-of-three, whose children Tom, eight, and Ben, six, attend Olveston Primary School told the Gazette: "My husband Matthew is a water engineer and works on different projects in developing countries. in 2010, I took my children to Bangladesh to see him. When I saw the slums it was a life-changing experience.

"The whole slum was on bamboo stilts and when the monsoon starts the water rises into their homes. The smell there was intense. When I came back I showed photos to my friends and we all thought we needed to help. We have set up Arban UK to help build a health centre in a slum in Dhaka."

Her children, together with their schoolmates at Olveston Primary, have been doing their bit for the youths of Dhaka since the organisation was set up. They have been corresponding with them, sending pictures, letters and even the occasional dictionary.

Mrs Bullock, 37, added: "I think it’s really important for the children in Olveston to think about children in Bangladesh. They have been really interested in learning about them and their lives and they have held their own fundraising events for them."

The charity races will also be the opportunity for the community to gather and have a fun day out like in the olden days.

"The Olveston School Fun Run used to be a big annual event, so we are hoping to get it going on the long term again. I used to do it when I was a child about 30 years ago."

To take part call Nicky Browne on 07769171772 or download an entry form on arban.org.uk