CHARITY fundraiser Nazim Ali will once again be putting his body to the test next weekend, when he takes on a ten kilometre run while fasting for Ramadan.

Mr Ali, from Manningham, will be travelling to Morecambe on Sunday, June 3, to complete the Morecambe 10k after fasting for 18 hours.

During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad.

The 37-year-old will have no access to food or water during the run, in temperatures around 20 degrees, and has also been struggling with a back injury which has hampered his training.

Six days after the run, Mr Ali, a careers adviser in three inner-city schools, is due to fly out to the Turkey/Syria border with West Yorkshire humanitarian organisation SKT Welfare to distribute food parcels to Syrian refugees.

This is the fifth year in a row Mr Ali has undertaken his Ramadan run, and will be his sixth visit to refugee camps on the border in the past five years.

He is doing the Morecambe 10k to raise money for food parcels he will then deliver to refugees. Each food pack costs £45, which is made up of two food parcels weighing 90 lbs in total, which will provide a family of five with enough food for a month.

The parcels contain rice, bulgur wheat, lentils, sugar, dates, flour, tea, and olive and sunflower oil.

Mr Ali self-funds the trips, which he carries out during his annual work leave, to ensure 100 per cent of donations go towards helping refugees.

He said: “The challenge will be both physically and mentally draining as I will have no access to water, my struggle is nothing in comparison to the plight of the Syrian refugees.

“What sticks in my mind and is the reason I go back is when Syrian refugees have said to me, ‘We feel abandoned by the world, but you have left your family to help us and that means ever so much to us’.

“You see the gratitude in their smiles and for me that is very poignant and touching.

“The Syrian refugees in previous visits were really surprised when I informed them that the donations from the food parcels were from both Muslims and non-Muslims, and they always ask me to convey their greetings to the donors.

“I inform the Syrian refugees the donors are in solidarity with you and are praying for you so that and on-going war ends and the suffering eases.

“So many have lost parents, family members and then you have many who have suffered catastrophic injuries due to the Syrian conflict.

“I pray and hope there is progress each time I visit but there seems to be no change just Syrian refugees trying to survive on a day to day basis rationing the little food they have.

“I can only do what I do through the generous support of the British public and I hope like previously they will once more get behind me.

“Their donations and kind support really is a source of motivation and strength for me to do what I do on the ground.”

To support Mr Ali and Syrian refugees, visit justgiving.com/nazim316