Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Please sponsor me for my charity cycle ride from the west coast to the east coast of England.....in 24 hours!!
I will be doing this charity cycle ride on 23rd August 2011. This 140 mile epic cycle will take me from Whitehaven (west coast) to Sunderland (east coast) - all in a day! My aim is to raise a target of £1000 for the FutureSense Foundation which supports a number of disability projects in Northern Tanzania, amongst other initiatives overseas where it aims to improve the education, child welfare and livelihoods of some of the most marginalised communities in the world.
Last year I spent 8 months volunteering for the FutureSense Foundation as a Physiotherapist at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Northern Tanzania, East Africa. Whilst this was an extremely rewarding experience it was sometimes heart-breaking to see how much disability there is in Tanzania. It could sometimes be very tough trying to treat and rehabilitate people in a place where the resources we are so used to in our National Health Service are extremely limited or may not even exist at all.
With the money I raise I hope to support the Kilimanjaro Association for the Spinally Injured in Tanzania (KASI) and the Best Centre for the Blind (BCB), which are two of the disability groups supported by the FutureSense Foundation in Northern Tanzania.
KASI is a user-led organisation that aims to facilitate the rehabilitation and social intergration of people with spinal cord injury back into the community. They promote the rights and welfare of people living with spinal cord injury and raises the awareness of the issues they face in Tanzania. KASI identifies suitable people who would benefit from a wheelchair or other mobility aids and distribute them as able. My aim is to raise as much money as I can to allow KASI to make locally produced mobility aids to improve the quality of life for some of its members. It costs around £200-£250 to make one locally produced wheelchair, but as little as £5 to make a wooden walking frame.
BCB is a non-profit non-governmental organisation which provides support for blind people and their families. The organisation was set up in 2006 and the founders set aside an amount of their own personal salary to aid this organisation. The centre currently houses 27 blind individuals, including 4 families with a total of 31 children. The rented premises has 17 rooms (including the office!). A donor recently bought them 5 acres of land which they hope to build on. With part of the money I raise I hope to support BCB in their building work to extend their premises and to support the blind adults with seeking employment.
These people want to be able to support themselves and I hope that by raising money to support the initiatives above it will give them the ability to do this.
So please sponsor me now! 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.
I am also cycling 140 miles coast to coast in memory of my wonderful, amazing and fantastic Mum, Sue Smith who very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on 8th June 2011. She has always supported me in everything I have done, so I know she will be with me the entire way - especially when it gets really really tough!!
So please sponsor me now - Life in Africa is hard enough, let alone when you have a disability.
Every penny counts - Thank you!!
