TWO kind-hearted friends had a “life-changing experience” as they completed a half-marathon in Rwanda and met the special children they sponsor.

Marion Weir and Debbie Hallsworth, who both live in the Cockermouth area, completed a challenging 13.1-mile East Africa run to raise funds for Compassion UK, which offers people the chance to support a child in poverty.

Marion did so after a team member spoke at Kings Church in Cockermouth, which she and Debbie attend.

Marion, 41, is a barrister employed by Cumbrian firm Brockbanks.

Debbie, meanwhile, is a 34-year-old pharmacist working at a pharmacy in Penrith.

They trained hard on familiar Cumbrian terrain before jetting out to Rwanda, known as “the land of a thousand hills and a million smiles”.

There, Marion and Debbie both met their four-year-old sponsored children, Bruno Happy and Joel, alongside both of their families.

“Just seeing the poverty that these people live in is very challenging but the difference sponsorship makes is immense,” she said.

“It really does change lives.”

Race day, which began at 6am and took runners - including Marion and Debbie - through the Rwandan countryside, was an emotional, unforgettable experience.

“I cannot begin to capture the beauty of what we saw during the race,” Marion explained.

“The people working out on the fields, the wildlife, the children who wanted to run along side with us were all things that make this race one that I know I will remember forever.

“People we started the week not knowing were now friends who we laughed with, cried with and embraced as we crossed the finish line.”

Marion and Debbie’s fund-raising efforts resulted in 14 other children being sponsored.

Marion added: “It sounds trite to say it was a life-changing experience but I can’t think of any other way to do it justice.

“Sharing it with new friends, seeing lives changed and being blessed by people who have so much joy was very humbling.”