AFP in the news
AFP London take on Tough Mudder for the Rory Peck Trust
On April 30, AFP London team will take on a tough physical and mental endurance challenge to raise money for the Rory Peck Trust which supports freelance newsgatherers around the world.
Nineteen members of the bureau, from text and video journalists to technical and administrative staff, will compete in a Tough Mudder race through the British countryside, overcoming 20 to 25 obstacles of varying difficulty along the way. They are aiming to raise £15,000 (19,300 euros, 21,000 dollars) for the charity.
The Rory Peck Trust is the only organisation in the world that works solely for the support, safety and welfare of freelance reporters, photographers, video journalists, fixers and their families. It provides first aid, safety and hostile environment training as well as financial assistance to freelancers subjected to persecution, exile or imprisonment as part of their work. It also runs regional workshops and gives guidelines, advice and digital resources so that freelancers can learn how to protect themselves. For 20 years, it has also held annual awards for freelance cameramen and women with AFPTV freelancers winning in the News section for the past two years.
As part of the challenge, the 19 so-called Media Mudders will have to run 12 miles (19 kilometres) over rolling hills about one hour to the west of London and overcome obstacles which include plunging into ice-cold water, clambering under barbed wire, scaling steep and slippery walls and even running through a field of live electricity cables.
Participating in the event are: Florence Biedermann, Antoine Bouthier, Peter Cunliffe-Jones, Kilian Fichou, Edouard Guihaire, Jessica Holmes, Robert Kubicki, Robin Millard, Naomi O’Leary, Helen Percival, Jacqueline Pietsch, Claire Price, Richard Sargent, Devinder Sehmbi, Joe Sinclair, Arman Soldin ,Thorbjorn Tellefsen, Dario Thuburn and Charlotte Turner.
You can support the AFP London team by donating through their Virgin Money Giving fundraising page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/AFPLondon. For updates on training and fundraising visit the Rory Peck Trust website https://rorypecktrust.org/rpt-live/February-2016/AFP-London-takes-on-Tough-Mudder-for-RPT as well as Twitter https://twitter.com/rorypecktrust and Facebook feeds https://www.facebook.com/RoryPeckTrust/?fref=ts.
AFP first Tough Mudder training :