She arrived in Africa, we will report more action as it happens.

DYNAMIC Deena Rahman has signed up and been selected to join a party of athletes, led by a double Olympic champion, on an extreme African charity challenge to raise awareness about child malnutrition and help develop youth sport.

The Bahrain international footballer, who runs a soccer academy in the kingdom, is in training for her latest sporting adventure which will take place in October.

She will be part of a squad of 30 set up by Britain’s Dame Kelly Holmes for The 2019 Orbis Challenge, consisting of three tough trail runs across Southern Malawi.

“I’m so honoured, delighted and excited to have been selected to join Dame Kelly and the rest of the team on this epic adventure,” said Deena, 36, who lives in Saar with her husband, Paul. “I can’t wait to get to Malawi!”

“I was put forward through a football friend and when I saw what it was about I was definitely up for applying for it.

“Having just completed an ultra-marathon -100km - in May, I was eager to pursue more physically-demanding events to challenge myself. This - alongside the work to support the Malawi children, another passion of wanting to help where it’s needed - just ticked all the boxes.

“Lastly, the chance of meeting Dame Kelly Holmes, one of my inspiring idols growing up, just made it even more exciting.”

Deena was interviewed by organiser Kate Webb, co-owner of Orbis Expeditions, who has lived in Africa for 10 years and now helps run the company from the UK. It aims to offer experiences which inspire and challenge participants and offer direct positive impact to Malawian communities.

Retired athlete Dame Kelly, 49, who specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, ultimately had to approve or decline the application. ”When Kate came back saying I was accepted I was absolutely delighted,” admitted Deena.

Dame Kelly successfully took part in the initial ‘Orbis Challenge: Sport with a Purpose’ event last year which involved running, cycling and kayaking, and she was equally pleased to have Bahrain’s representative on board, posting on social media: “So excited to welcome Deena to The 2019 Orbis Challenge Team. International footballer, coach and all round adventurer. Welcome to the team!”

Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, is defined by its topography of highlands split by the Great Rift Valley and enormous Lake Malawi. The lake’s southern end falls within Lake Malawi National Park – sheltering diverse wildlife from colourful fish to baboons.

Dame Kelly’s 2019 team will take on three trail runs through Southern Malawi from October 5 -12. They will be joined by Malawian runners for each stage who will act as guides and support crew.

The first part of the challenge will be a 25km steep, rocky ‘Extreme Mountain Run’ of more than 1,000m elevation and might take up to seven hours to compete.
Next comes a 20km ‘Forest Plateau Run’ on plantation tracks with steep rocky descents. Finally, comes a 20km ‘Lake Malawi Trail Run’ on sandy tracks, hilly terrain, plus village running in temperatures edging towards 40 degrees.
The aim is to raise £10,000 to support the work of the Open Arms initiative to help prevent malnutrition in children. During Deena’s time in Malawi Deena she will visit various nutrition-based projects and learn more about the vital need for children to have access to at least one good meal a day.
- 835,000 Malawians currently care for an orphaned child
- Malnutrition causes 23% of child deaths in Malawi.
- £10,000 will provide food for 550 Open Arms children over 12 months
 

“I have never met or worked with Dame Kelly before and I can’t wait to meet her,” added Deena, who runs Tekkers Football Academy, and says the trip is set to cost her around BD2,000. “If anyone wants to sponsor me that would be amazing,” she added.

Deena has travelled to a few countries in Africa on international footballing duty and most notably, as part of a Guinness World Record success with the Equal Playing Field Initiative, in Tanzania, where members climbed Kilimanjaro to champion women’s football and played a full 90-minute match at the highest altitude ever recorded in 2017. 

During a summer break in Ireland Deena has been running daily, says he is happy with my base fitness, and has also signed up for a half-marathon in the English town of Seaford. 

“Once back in Bahrain, running in the heat will help me for the temperatures expected in Malawi and, I guess, the incline on the treadmill it will have to be as there’s not much mountain-style running in Bahrain!” she added.

“Tekkers Academy players will be donating their outgrown sports kit or sports shoes to me, but, of course, donations from everybody will be welcome.

“DHL Bahrain have kindly agreed to ship what I’ve collected to Malawi when I travel there in October, so if anyone would like to donate anything, they can drop it off to Tekkers Academy coaching staff from September 1 or contact me directly at Tekkersdee@gmail.com or by calling 37709010.”

For further details on the challenge visit www.orbis-challenge.com