A 28-year-old Palestinian long distance runner is participating in the London Marathon on April 22 to raise awareness about Gaza's dirty water.
Mohammad Al-Qadi is the founder of Runners For Freedom, a global running community with runners from all over the world practicing this sport to advocate peace, freedom, and human rights.
France-based Al-Qadi is a proud Palestinian refugee from the West Bank, having finished 11 international marathons in 20 months. He always makes sure to raise the flag of his home country at events to bring attention to the plight of his people.
In an interview with the BBC, he emphasized how dangerous running in the West Bank is, leading him to stop this activity there.
"Since I was a kid, my dream was to become a champion. But because of the war, I stopped running," he told the BBC.
He also explained that he runs to raise awareness about the challenges facing Palestinians and that he believes sports is a good way to convey the message to the public.
Al-Qadi is running the London Marathon to raise awareness about Gaza's dirty water
Other than participating in the London Marathon - which would be his No. 12 - he's also raising funds with Penny Appeal to provide clean and safe water for the people of Gaza.
He said that 90% of the water in the besieged Gaza strip is not safe to drink, with only 10% of the population having access to safe water.
In his appeal, Al-Qadi said he's hoping to raise £10,000 ($14,000) to be able to provide clean, safe water for the people of Gaza.
You can help out and donate here.
Al-Qadi's dream to run all six of the world major marathons was cut short
Al-Qadi told the BBC of his dream to participate in the esteemed series of marathons that consists of the largest and most renowned six marathons in the world.
The six races take place in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.
Last year, he was denied entry to the U.S., where half of the marathons take place, cutting his dream of taking part of this event short.