A nine-year-old boy has raised more than £4,000 through a series of cycling challenges, in honour of his beloved little sister.
Michael Fowler of Ellesmere Port, has seen his father Neil take part in dozens of similar feats to raise awareness for Rett Syndrome over the last few years, ever since Neil’s daughter Ciara was diagnosed with the condition just before her second birthday in 2011.
Keen to get involved in raising money himself, Michael, a Year 5 pupil at St Oswald’s Primary School in Mollington , decided to take on his first cycling challenge for Ciara, now six, and Reverse Rett, a charity which works to speed up treatment and find a cure for the neurological development disorder Rett Syndrome.
The 5.50 Challenge is organised by the charity each year, under the premise that a participant runs, walks, swims or cycles a minimum of 5k for 50 consecutive days. Because Michael wanted to cycle for the whole challenge, he decided to do a minimum of 10k for each of the 50 days.
Related: Port2Port cycle for Ellesmere Port dad
He began with his first ride on Sunday, March 20, sometimes riding before school, and completed the challenge on Sunday, May 8, combining an excess of 600km with his normal school activities such as football and swimming.
Michael said: “I want to help Ciara to always be happy and not to always have to miss out on all the fun. I want her to always be part of the fun. Ciara often has to just sit and watch other children playing and having fun.
“Because of Rett Syndrome, our family can’t always do normal things together and we now have to take Ciara to Claire House Children’s Hospice so that we can do more.
“By doing the 5 x 50 Challenge it will hopefully be one step closer to finding a cure for Rett Syndrome, which means we can then do more together as a family. I’ve always wanted to be part of Team Ciara since watching my dad do his amazing bike rides for Ciara.
“I have always wanted to do challenges for Ciara and as I am now nine, I am old enough to start,” he added.
A total of £7,288.93 has now been raised for Ciara’s Centurions, which was set up by Neil with the idea that a team of at least 100 people join together to do some form of a fundraising, each with a minimum target of raising £100.
Thanks to Michael’s stellar contribution, the team are well on the way to beating their target of £10,000.
Dave Wallace, headteacher of St Oswald’s, said: “We are so proud that someone as selfless as Michael is part of our school.”
To donate to Michael’s challenge, click here.
