10 FOR 10 Challenge – The BOWRA Foundation
As part of the 10 for 10 challenge across 2023, Priavo Security is raising money for charities and good causes. Our chosen charity for July is the BOWRA Foundation.
Priavo Security is celebrating its 10th year of operation this year. As we are committed to supporting people’s fundamental right to feel protected at all times, our celebrations will centre around safeguarding vulnerable groups in our community. Our team will undertake ten months’ worth of fundraising events and challenges. Collectively we will donate towards and support our ten chosen charities covering military, conservation, and local community causes.
Who are the BOWRA Foundation?
The Bowra Foundation inspires the unrelenting pursuit of recovery from brain injury through practical help and physical challenges alongside members of the Armed Forces community.
Mark Bowra, the founder of the foundation, was a decorated officer in the UK Special Forces and suffered a major stroke whilst driving which led to him being hospitalised for over a year. Thankfully with the help of his family, friends and some very supportive charities including Help for Heroes, Mark is now back on his feet again. With a greater determination to help others, he has dedicated himself to helping others in similar situations to recover – establishing the Bowra Foundation in 2019 to inspire resilience among people suffering from neurological disorders.
Building on his own experience recovering from stroke, Mark works with others who may be similarly affected, through:
• The Bowra bag: They provide critical ‘kit bags’ to stroke and brain injury survivors in the early stages of their recovery, working with healthcare partners and charities to distribute this tool kit to aid to rehabilitation, communication and independence.
• Inspirational Challenges: Founder Mark, embarks on challenges to set goals and achieve them – driving his own stroke rehabilitation. The foundation supports him in completing these safely and sharing his experiences with fellow brain survivors to inspire others in their own recovery.
• Events and Activities: They support rehabilitation through social interaction and physical activity in Poole, UK. ‘Bowra Buddies’ participate in adaptive kayaking, cycling, golf, bowling and walks supported by veteran volunteers.
Our team will be helping in this mission, providing a number of BOWRA bags to those that need it. Whilst struggling with his recovery in hospital Mark started to put together in a rucksack several items which he was finding helpful with exercising his muscles, mental recovery, and daily tasks.
Mark found that these items had played such a significant part in his early recovery that he decided to create more of the bags to be handed out to other former serving stroke survivors. The feedback from that exercise was that the bags have significant merit. This was a major inspiration for Mark to set up his foundation, and they now send BOWRA bags country wide to support as many stroke survivors and people living with brain injury as possible.
The Bowra bags are also the inspiration for the foundation’s mantra: “what’s inside matters”.
The BOWRA Foundation is a small charity local to Poole, and the donation of the cost of 10 BOWRA Bags from PRIAVO will allow us to support 10 more people in need, inspiring them in their unrelenting pursuit of recovery. Thank you
To view more of our charity work across Military, Conservation and local causes, please click here.