Story
Many thanks for visiting my JustGiving page. I have signed up as a volunteer project manager with Raleigh International and will be heading to Tanzania at the beginning of 2013 for three months of challenging work in rural communities.
**Note! The title url of this page is RebeccaIndia as I was due to join Raleigh in India in autumn 2012 but had to defer to a later expedition due to an injury.**
Let me tell you more about Raleigh. It is a youth development charity that leads projects in developing countries - currently India, Borneo, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The expedition to Tanzania in 2013 will be the first time Raleigh has operated in that country, and its first time in Africa for some years. Several times a year, up to 120 young people between the ages of 17 and 24 fundraise for this charity, then set off to broaden their horizons, open their minds to new cultures and people from different backgrounds, and offer their muscle and enthusiasm to complete development projects.
These youthful fonts of energy need to be guided and encouraged (as opposed to restrained!) by a team of volunteer managers with a variety of skills, one of whom will be me.
Some of the projects I could be working on (staff are only allocated to projects sites once in the country) include: working alongside villagers in a rural tribal community on an infrastructure development programme improving access to sanitation; living in a remote savannah region while working on a conservation scheme to reduce the impact of human habitation on elephant populations; or living in communities in Katavi National Park, introducing cooking stoves made of locally-found and sustainable materials that burn 60% less wood than currently used.
Raleigh maintains a permanent presence in each of its chosen host countries, and is committed to offering long-term solutions to the communities it helps. Raleigh writes: "Through concentrated and sustained efforts our project groups have begun to make a tangible difference in the areas Raleigh has focused. By partnering with both local grass roots NGOs, government agencies such as the Ministry for Environment and Forests and international NGOs like the World Wide Fund for Nature, Raleigh has been able to access and address some core issues in [host countries]."
Though this expedition will undoubtedly be fun, it is not a holiday! Instead, it is a chance to help others and in turn learn leadership skills and discover more about myself and the world we live in.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. They will not sell your details on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.
So, please dig as deep as you can in these straightened times. Many, many thanks to you :-) (and to Pearson, the FT's parent company for donating £500)
Rebecca x
To read updates of the projects, see our blog: