This coming July I will be skydiving to raise money for Global Vision International-Ecuador.

For the major part of my gap year in 2008, I spent sixteen weeks volunteering on a Childcare Project with Global Vision International in Ecuador. After two weeks of intensive Spanish lessons I was taken up to Urcusiqui, the school where I was to teach grade one students for the remainder of my time. From the moment I stepped off the bus and into the school grounds, I was filled with a determination and a purpose unlike anything else I've felt before. Each morning we were greeted with unconditional respect from the students, some of whom had walked up to 1 hour and a half to get to school. The following fourteen weeks were spent teaching shapes, colours, numbers, letters, and the occasional English phrase. They were the happiest weeks of my life to date which made coming back home more difficult than anything I've experienced.

Upon returning to Melbourne I was filled with an urgency to do more volunteering and to maintain contact with GVI who had been so supportive of me before, during, and after my time in Ecuador. As a current Ambassador for GVI, it has been amazing to share my stories with potential volunteers however I felt the need to contribute more somehow. This is how I came up with the idea of skydiving for charity.

The money raised from my skydive will be put directly into the high school fund for the schools where GVI volunteer in Ecuador. I have chosen this cause because I know that these students can have a better quality of life if they are given the opportunity to further their academics. From as little as US $150 per year, a student from one of these schools can attend high school. With perseverance and determination, I know it is possible to send each deserving student to high school through to completion. This is just the beginning. As for the future, I will be returning to Ecuador to volunteer after I finish my university degree and I intend on visiting many other GVI projects.

No matter how small your donation, I can guarantee you a difference will be made. I appreciate every dollar donated! For those of you donating in Australia, this is a UK website so your donation will be converted into Pounds- don't be put off by the awful conversion! If you have friends or family members who are interested in donating to a charitable cause, please let them know about my skydive but also more importantly, Global Vision International.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page-it means the world to me.

Please dig deep and donate.

Victoria Allison

 

 

For more information on GVI and their many projects visit their website: http://www.gvi.co.uk/

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.