Joining the ranks of professional runners at the 31st annual Virgin London Marathon on 17 April was first-time runner, Philip Holmes, who completed the 34 km course in 4 hours and 50 minutes: all to raise money for The Esther Benjamins Trust Nepal which he helped set up.

The Trust works in Nepal to locate, rescue and rehabilitate children and young people who have been the victims of trafficking as well as other marginalised and at-risk groups including the hearing-impaired and street children. Holmes, who has lived in Nepal since 2005, was joined by a small group of dedicated runners from Nepal and they raised �25,000. The money will be used to help in the upkeep of the Trust's nearly 200 rescued children and to apprehend the traffickers and agents who continue to prey on Nepali children.

On 30 May Holmes will again lace up to compete in the BUPA 10 km run in another fundraising effort. This time he will be joined by Maya Lama Dong (pictured, above), a talented long-distance runner who was rescued by the Trust from circus slavery in 2004 and now resides in one of the charity's two refuges at Godavari.

A group of 11 Western circus volunteers, three of whom are former Nepal volunteers, will also join the trio to raise money to support Sapana, Nepal's first contemporary circus.

"It's wonderful that Maya can don trainers and help us raise funds for other girls like herself and allow them to benefit from the opportunities The Esther Benjamins Trust provides in Nepal. This will be the race of a lifetime for Maya and one that could have no better purpose,"says Holmes.

www.justgiving.com/maya10k