Hello and thank you for taking time to visit my justgiving page and reading about what exactly I am fundraising for.

On the 6th October 2013 I shall be leaving behind my friends, family, phone and internet (ekk) and heading to Borneo with Raleigh International, for 10 weeks of basic living conditions, eating porridge and no running water for 3 weeks at a time (yes, I am going to smell bad but I can't wait!). This expedition is giving me the opportunity to do my bit towards fighting poverty in Sabah, the state with the highest rates of poverty throughout the whole of Malaysia.

So what will I be doing? Well, alongside many other venturers from across the world, for 3 weeks I will be working in partnership with local communities to make a much-needed difference, improving health, sanitation and education of the local community. This could involve installing gravity fed water systems or building kindergartens to increase the opportunities for children to get an education, as 21% of children in Sabah have never been to school.
Another 3 weeks will be spent living in the rainforests with the focus of preserving local wildlife, as Sabah’s' rainforests are the oldest to the world with a diverse range of species. Past projects have included constructing water tanks, trail maintenance and building sun bear conservation centres.
The final stage of my expedition is a 10-11 day trek across the South Western corner of Sabah on the Kalimantan and Sarawak border, which will be both mentally and physically demanding. During this time I will also be given to opportunity to gain a PADI Open Water diving qualification followed by 2 days of reef survey work, underwater clean up or collecting data for the International Reef Check Project.

How can you help? All donations will go towards equipment, materials and the development of Raleigh projects that will be taking place, and gives Raleigh the opportunity to make on-going connections with the communities in which we have visited to ensure our work is long term and sustainable, having the biggest impact it can. A donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated!

If you are interested in keeping updated with what I'm doing whilst away, visit http://www.raleighinternational.org/ where you will find a ‘Raleigh Borneo’ blog with regular updates throughout the duration of my stay.

I am so excited to be going on this expedition, and what’s better is I know that the work I will be doing will have such a positive impact on communities that are in need of a change.

Thank you!