Haverhill dad takes on a 700 mile journey for charity

The dad of two girls who live with a rare life-limiting and debilitating genetic disorder has embarked on a 700 mile journey to raise money for a charity that has supported his family.

Jamie Bamber, of Haverhill, last week began his quest to cycle the distance to raise money for ‘My Mito Miles’, a fund-raising challenge being held by the UK’s leading mitochondrial disease charity, the Lily Foundation.

The charity aims to get enough people pedalling to reach a total of 24,901 miles – a circumnavigation of the world – by September 19, the end of Global Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week.

Jamie and his wife Michelle’s daughters Lily, 11, and Willow, six, carry mutations which have caused a variant of Leigh’s disease - a mitochondrial disease - which means that their central nervous systems cannot operate as normal causing less energy to be produced.

Acutely aware of how the coronavirus lockdown has deprived the Lily Foundation of many major fund-raising streams this year, Jamie decided to put the turbo trainer in his spare room to good use - particularly as he is having to self-isolate in order to shield his daughters.

He said: “Cycling is something that I enjoy doing and at the moment, not being able to get out, as with everybody, and lead a normal life it’s just a way of keeping myself going.

“They’ve (the Lily Foundation) done so much for us, however much i raise, if its a couple of hundred quid or more, it’s just a way of saying thank you.”

Jamie has set up an online donation page for the challenge.

Jamie is also keen to make people aware that the Lily Foundation, which helped with the costs of adapting his family home so that is was more accessible to Lily, who is in a wheelchair, is still there and raising funds.

The charity is currently having an online pub quiz night every Thursday, hosted by a different celebrity each time (this week it will be Jo Brand) that can be accessed HERE