13928/2A dynamic Sherston family are gearing up for their biggest challenge yet cycling from Paris to London next month to raise money for one of Africa's poorest communities.

The Cornells begin the race on September 5 and aim to be in London by September 10 and have already raised around £7,000 to provide basic water and medication for the Boni community.

This hunter-gatherer community of around 17,000 people inhabits the Lamu district of Kenya, near the Somali border.

They live in one of the most remote locations in the country two hours by car from any sort of civilisation.

Father Christopher, 64, and mother Sarah, 58, will join their 29-year-old daughter Belinda for the 200-mile trek from the French capital to the London HQ of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).

The family became involved with AMREF when a friend of Mrs Cornell who works for the charity explained the work they do in Lamu.

Sparked into action, Mr and Mrs Cornell visited the Boni people in Kenya last February. They stayed there for two days in a World Wildlife Fund camp.

Describing the journey, Mrs Cornell said they travelled for three hours in a hospital truck, in heat over 40 degrees Celsius, before being welcomed into the village.

She said one of the most poignant moments came when an elder pleaded with them for help through a translator.

Mrs Cornell said: "In three of the villages, the wells we were taken to were dry. Two hours away the Africans are walking about with mobile phones, and yet there's nothing, not even clean water."

The lack of water forces villagers to take water from nearby swamps, which creates further health problems like malaria and typhoid.

Mrs Cornell said the money raised would provide essential equipment such as a solar fridge to keep vaccines cool.

"One village we saw had a working well and this meant there was a teacher for the children. If there was no clean water, that teacher disappears," said Mrs Cornell.

Despite the tragic situation, Mrs Cornell said she was amazed by the people's dignity.

She said: "One day we brought a football and played soccer, ball games and piggy in the middle with the children. Their excitement was great. The mothers sitting around them were aged around 15 and giggling away. When we got back to England we thought, let's raise some money."

In a stark contrast to the British diet, Mrs Cornell said the people often hunted antelopes and ate honey and nuts.

The Lamu landscape is a barren landscape, too dry for growing crops except nut trees, according to Mrs Cornell.

She said: "These are not like the kids we see on TV with sticky-out tummies. But they have eye infections and all the other health risks associated with dirty water such as malaria and intestinal worms. These people are not strong enough to build the wells by themselves, and that's why they need help."

Deputy director of AMREF Gordon Owles said it was fantastic this family was raising money for a community which desperately needs it.

Mr Owles said: "These people have no doctors and no income. They suffer from either no rain or too much.

"It is a long and laborious process for charities to help them because in the rainy season the access routes are flooded and the area is insecure with bandits."

If you would like to donate to the Cornell Challenge, please send a cheque to AMREF UK (Cornell), 4 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HJ or log on to www.justgiving.com/cornellchallenge.