Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As you probably already know (because I may have mentioned it once or twice) I took part in a charity challenge in July 2013 whereby I trekked & kayaked (if you can call it that) the jungle in Thailand whilst raising money for Diabetes UK.

Well, the experience was certainly life changing. It was hard work, it was challenging, it pushed me way out of my comfort zone and I loved every damn second of it.

I came home and right away began to look at doing my next challenge. So here it is. The Sumatra Jungle Challenge. I will be trekking for 6 days (twice a long as Thailand) in a hotter climate and a more mountainous country. During the trek I will be paying visit to an orangutan feeding platform in Gunung Leuser National Park which will be a fantastic opportunity to see the orangutans in their natural habitat. 

As I have an interest in protecting this critically endangered species, I decided to donate all the money raised to the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS). This will also give me the opportunity to see with my own eyes how the money is helping to improve this dire situation.

Orangutan numbers are dwindling and they are now only found on two islands in the world - Sumatra and Borneo. They are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA. They are clever, gentle and gorgeous creatures. And there are only 6,600 left in the wild.

Their greatest threats are habitat loss and illegal pet trade.

Sumatra has lost almost HALF of its forest in the last 25 years. The forests are being demolished to make room for palm oil plantations. Not only is this an obvious problem for the orangutans but all roads being built through the forest are also giving poachers easy access to them.

"Orangutans are 'gardeners of the forest'. They play a crucial role in forest regeneration through the fruits and seeds they eat, and the light that reaches the forest floor when they swing through the trees and build nests in the canopy. Their disappearance may represent the loss of thousands of species of animals and plants which share their rainforest ecosystem."

The SOS are working hard to turn this situation around by supporting grassroots projects, restoring damaged orangutan habitat through tree planting programmes (which I will take part in whilst I'm there), campaigning and raising awareness. Their aim is to protect, extend and secure the habitat of wild orangutans to stabalise and grow the population.

(Reference: http://www.orangutans-sos.org/about)

Please please please be aware that the cost of the trip has already been covered (thanks to a very generous sponsor). I would hate for you to not donate because you think you're funding a 'holiday'. Every penny you donate will go to this amazing charity.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about this great cause. Please donate generously :-) you can text UTAN 89 and the amount you want to donate (£1,£2, £3, £4, £5, £10) to 70070. Seriously, just send £1. The monkey's and I would really appreciate it!

If you're still here and interested, you can see the whole itinerary for my trip here:

http://www.charitychallenge.com/expedition/1816/Sumatra-Jungle-Challenge

(Click the itinerary button - if you couldn't work that out yourself)

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.