STALWART fundraiser Nazim Ali is preparing for his 8th consecutive Ramadan 10k in Bradford and aims to raise at least £45,000 - enough to build 36 two-room homes in Northern Syria.

To date he has already been pledged almost £30,000 and hopes to smash his target by a sizeable amount.

Nazim is no stranger to fundraising, having secured more than £320,000 for a plethora of causes both in the UK and abroad over the years.

His latest run is on Sunday, May 9, and has been training while in the middle of the Ramadan fast. He is running as part of the Virtual Hamburg, German, 10k, and on Sunday will set off from Lister Park and run to Cottingley and back.

As well as running and training during fasting he also has to fit his runs around his full time work as a careers adviser with three Bradford schools.

Nazim said: “I am doing it in aid of SKT Welfare’s ‘Safe Haven Project’ - which has a 100 per cent donation policy- where internally displaced Syrian refugees are being moved from makeshift tents to safe and secure new two-room homes including a bathroom, kitchen and access to clean water. These homes will provide protection from the harsh winters and summer heat as well as improving lives with a clean place to live and help to fight off death from diseases.

“Each home costs just £1,250 to build so the more money I can raise, the more homes I can pay to be built.”

Last year during his 2020 Ramadan run Nazim raised over £40,000 which contributed towards transforming 116 houses which he project-managed from the UK for people in Malawi.

No stranger to helping out good causes, Nazim has a long history of philanthropic work.

For over 23 years he has been at the forefront of community and humanitarian initiatives at local, national and international levels receiving national awards in the process.

He added: “I have distributed, in person, aid to the Turkey/Syria border on seven occasions, the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Iraqi refugees in war torn Mosul, the poverty stricken in Malawi and to refugees in France and Belgium, all in the last five years.

“For nine years I have run the five-times-a-year ‘Creating Smiles Gifts Initiative’ distributing well over a thousand gifts to Bradford Royal Infirmary and Airedale Hospital wards.

“For over seven years once a week I volunteer at the Curry Circle Food Provision serving warm two-course meals to the homeless and destitute which I continue to do during the Covid-19 Pandemic as it is needed more than ever.

“So far from my previous seven Ramadan runs I have raised £126,000 so with my latest effort I am hoping to hit £170,000.

“I am eternally thankful to the donors for their kind donations and on-going support which is humbling. It is because of people’s generosity that I have been able to raise so much.

“One of my biggest hopes in the near future is to be able to travel overseas to see the houses which have been built in person as Covid stopped me from going last year.

To donate to Nazim go to: https://www.sktwelfare.org/giving-together/nazima/007/