She’s Seen the Devastation. Now She’s Running 26.2 Miles to Fix It

A photographer from Penryn is lacing up her trainers for one of the world’s most famous races this weekend, not just for the personal challenge, but for the families she has met whose lives have been torn apart by disaster and conflict.

Amy Griffin, 30, will be joining tens of thousands of runners at the London Marathon later this month, aiming to raise £2,500 for ShelterBox, the international disaster relief charity founded in Cornwall in 2000.

📷Hurricane Melissa made history as the strongest storm of 2025 and the first Category 5 hurricane to directly hit Jamaica. Working with Food for the Poor and Rotary in Jamaica, we supported thousands of people with shelter and other essential items like blankets, mosquito nets, water carriers, and solar lights.

This image shows the damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa and the shelter need across the country. We met Jennifer as part of our assessments following Hurricane Melissa and she told us: “What is the number one need? Shelter is number one. This is shelter. At nighttime we are not comfortable.”

From the Field to the Start Line

Amy’s connection to ShelterBox runs deeper than most charity runners. As part of her work with the Westcountry-based charity, she has travelled to some of the world’s most hard-to-reach communities, photographing shelter responses in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and the Philippines.

Through her camera lens, she has documented the stories of families who have lost everything, amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.

“I’ve spoken with families who have lost their homes amidst disaster and conflict, yet remain resilient in the most difficult of circumstances,” says Amy. “I’ve also seen how the right support, at the right time, can help to restore dignity, stability and hope. This is what I’ll be reminding myself of throughout this mighty big challenge.”

📷Amy Griffin during a ShelterBox deployment to Ethiopia

Training Through a Cornish Winter

Preparation has not exactly been straightforward. Amy has been training along Cornwall’s coastal paths and countryside, contending with the county’s famously unpredictable weather.

“It has been miserable weather,” she says. “But I’ve been getting out and pounding the pavements with my trusty running plan. Living in Cornwall means hunting for dry days and flat routes has become a weekly challenge. Still, I’m hoping all the torrential rain and relentless hills are doing me some good in the long run.”

📷When Super Typhoon Rai ravaged parts of the Philippines in December 2021, it damaged and destroyed 1.7 million homes. Typhoon Rai, locally known as Odette, was the most severe storm to hit the country in 2021.

With support from the Rotary Club of Cebu, in total we provided shelter and emergency aid to over 100,000 people whose homes lay in the path of the super typhoon. In fact, ShelterBox was one of the first charities to start distributing aid in the aftermath of the typhoon that hit just as families were preparing for Christmas.

Three-year-old Steve laughs loudly as he holds onto his family’s new solar light.

Why the Money Matters

ShelterBox relies entirely on public donations to fund its work. The charity has supported more than 3 million people across around 100 countries since it was founded, providing emergency shelter, tools, and essential items to those left with nowhere to live following earthquakes, storms, and conflict.

It has recently launched an urgent fundraising appeal for Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced following the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The charity is also currently active in Sudan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

Harpreet Kaur, Community Fundraising Manager at ShelterBox, said: “Amy has seen first-hand the difference shelter makes, and we’re so proud to have her running for us. Every pound she raises helps us reach families who have lost their homes through no fault of their own. We couldn’t continue our work without incredible supporters like Amy.”

📷Amy Griffin

Race Day Nerves

Despite her training, Amy admits to a mixture of excitement and nerves ahead of the big day.

“I’m equally excited as I am terrified,” she says. “I’m trying not to think about the end goal too much as some runs feel awful and some feel great.

“Everyone says the London Marathon is like nothing else and I can’t wait to soak it all in, the crowds, the music, the signs, the joy of it all. I get emotional watching it on the telly every year, so I’ll be carrying a pack of tissues on the day.

“I’m looking forward to crossing that finish line knowing I’ve done something meaningful for a charity I care deeply about. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be unforgettable in the best possible way!”

Amy has already nearly reached her £2,500 fundraising target, with support from family, friends, her community running club, and work colleagues. To find out more about Amy’s challenge, visit her fundraising page.

To find out more about fundraising for ShelterBox, visit shelterbox.org/fundraise.

📷Mr Gebrehans is in his seventies and lives with his wife, Amet, and grandchild, Therik, who helps care for him as he is blind.

Conflict in northern Ethiopia escalated in 2021, spreading from Tigray into the Amhara and Afar regions. ShelterBox and PAD supported Mr Gebrehans and his family with corrugated iron sheeting wooden poles, door hinges, nails, door and window locks, a solar light, and some cash to support with labour in repairing the home.

Mr Gebrehans and his wife Amet hold hands outside their home in Tigray, Ethiopia. "Someone like me is spending most of our time in our homes. Home is protection."

📷The Lake Chad Basin, which includes parts of Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger, is facing a complex crisis. It’s not just one problem, but a combination of conflict, poverty, and climate change that’s making life extremely hard for millions of people.

Since 2015, we’ve supported over 250,000 people in in the Far North region of Cameroon with shelter and emergency aid. We are one of the main providers of shelter.

A young woman smiles and waves inside her new durable shelter in Bogo Camp, Cameroon.

📷Mr Gebrehans and his wife Amet, sat inside their newly built shelter. “We are glad we survived.’"

📷 Shushay, 40, was forced to travel for 3-4 weeks on foot with her family after conflict in northern Ethiopia spread from Tigray into the Amhara and Afar regions. She lives with her six children in the grounds of a school in Shire City, which is home to tens of thousands of internally displaced people.

ShelterBox and PAD supported Shushay and her family with blankets, a sleeping mat, mosquito net, kitchen set, household hygiene set, solar lamp, woven bag, and a dignity kit - including reusable sanitary pads.

Shushay smiles during an interview with ShelterBox. “A house means a place where you raise your children and take shelter. It means a place of sleep and growth for you and your children.”

📷Hurricane Melissa made history as the strongest storm of 2025 and the first Category 5 hurricane to directly hit Jamaica. Working with Food for the Poor and Rotary in Jamaica, we supported thousands of people with shelter and other essential items like blankets, mosquito nets, water carriers, and solar lights.

A local carpenter repairs a destroyed roof in the Zion region of Jamaica using shelter kit materials.

📷Hurricane Melissa made history as the strongest storm of 2025 and the first Category 5 hurricane to directly hit Jamaica. Working with Food for the Poor and Rotary in Jamaica, we supported thousands of people with shelter and other essential items like blankets, mosquito nets, water carriers, and solar lights.

A woman beams with joy as distributions take place in Zion, the Cornwall county of Jamaica. Food For The Poor, Rotary and ShelterBox work together to distribute emergency shelter kits and household items to people with damaged homes.

📷Amy Griffin - Running (Portrait)