Powering a Better Future (COPY)

Whilst driving home from London in 2014 Mark Bowra MBE started to feel unwell eventually pulling into a service station, what Mark was experiencing was the start to a very serious stroke. Mark was at the height of his Military career as a highly decorated Royal Marines Officer, but what happened to him that day would leave doctors telling him that the brain injury would leave him without the ability to walk. He decided that this would not be the end of the story.

The stroke left Mark with right side paralysis, which would have implications on his speech reading and writing. After a year in hospital, leading into intensive rehabilitation Mark started to fight back and take back the life that he once led. Ever since, he has turned himself into a role model for people going through similar challenges in their life. He has proved that anything is possible, no matter if an expert has told him that he can’t do something Mark has only ever used that as motivation and proved anything is possible with the right mindset.

Photo credit: The Bowra Foundation

The Bowra Foundation

In 2019, Mark decided to set up the Bowra foundation, a charity that enlists ex-military personnel to help people with their recovery from brain injury. Mark decided this was needed as he believed the help he received through the military for his recovery was first class giving him the best recovery, but Mark believed that civilian help for people who are going through challenges such as his was not to the same standard.

Driven by his motto of ‘the endless pursuit of recovery through physical activity’ Mark has gone on to support and impact countless beneficiary lives. Through different schemes such as Bowra buddies and the Bowra Bag, The Bowra Foundation has not only supported people with their recovery but has also impacted their families lives too offering support and advice to family members.

The main part of the Bowra Foundation is getting people involved in different physical activities and sports with a variety of difficulty from sports with low physical strain like bowls which allow members who don't have full accessibility to participate and get comfortable with physical activity, this then levels up in difficulty ultimately ending up with extreme sports such as surfing, with some beneficiaries going from doctors and physicians telling them the limitations that they will have for the rest of their lives to then surfing and participating in activities that they once thought was not possible is credit to the Bowra foundations ability to prove to their beneficiaries that their limitations will not hold them back.

Mark Bowra participating in his activities

Photo Credit: The Bowra Foundation

When talking about why the Bowra foundation was so important for him to start the Bowra Foundation due to the support that was previously given to civilians, “In the military I have had rehabilitation in spades, but for civilians and military it is a mish mash of the support that is received. The headway group is good for meeting up and talking about the challenges people face, but in my opinion it is essential to go out there and participate in physical activity.”

As part of one of their activities the Bowra Foundation went down to Ferndown Forest Golf Course to use their driving range. This sport is popular throughout the beneficiaries as it provides the ability for members to track their progress with the driving range's top tracer showing them how far they are hitting. After obtaining professional help beneficiaries are able to keep improving. As part of their professional help the foundation reached out to former professional golfer Darren Stratman, Darren spoke about what it is like to work with the Bowra Foundation, ”They're just amazing, Everything's so positive. They're so welcoming of new people coming into the group. For me, it kind of highlights what golf was about, that actually you don't need to be brilliant at everything. They've all improved massively over the time and a lot of them now actually started to go on golf holidays.”

As part of their support, the Bowra foundation offer a service called the Bowra bag ‘A specially assembled toolkit of practical items designed to support survivors of stroke and brain injury in the early stages of rehabilitation, fostering independence, communication and recovery’. These bags go a long way for the beneficiaries giving them what they need to not only support their lives be help their families as well providing equipment that Mark himself used in his recovery and still to this day to help him with his injury. Megan Hill is the BOWRA Bag Project Manager helping detail and develop personalised Bowra bags for beneficiaries, she details why the scheme is so important.

”It's just a bag essentially with things in it that try and aid in making everyday life tasks a little bit easier for the beneficiaries. But then also it gives them, therabands in there and the thermal bands in there, the resistance bands and stuff so they can work on their physio and things like that as well.”

Megan spoke about the impact that Mark has on the beneficiaries: “Mark is just the most inspirational person to every one of these beneficiaries that we have. I think people seeing him and how well he's recovered and what he does and what he's capable of really does put fire in people that they probably wouldn't have had before.“

Darren Stratman continued this by saying: “Nothing's too difficult for him, but he doesn't see it as a challenge. He just does it. If Mark wants to do it, Mark will just go and do it without really any other thought. But it's just the fact he just wants everyone else to come along with him. He is absolutely amazing. ”

It is clear to see that the inspiring work that Mark and the Bowra foundation do is vital for their beneficiaries and their families. Proving to people who believe that their lives will be shaped by their injuries that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. Mark, whose mentality is clearly one of a highly decorated military special forces, has proved to not just their beneficiaries but also to people going through any challenge in their lives that anything is possible with the right mentality.