I'm Ben Cowley, and in February 2010 I am traveling to the island of Borneo, to volunteer in impoverished rural communities and help to improve the lives of the citizens of the Malaysian state of Sabah.

During my time there I shall be working on community and environmental project; this could include, providing a village with running water from a gravity feed well, or helping to build a community centre or a village hall. In the past Raleigh has also embarked upon projects that aim to develop other, more sustainable sources of income for the communities, such as eco-lodges for tourism and education.

As some of the work I will be doing will be helping to provide running water to villages, for one week in November I will be walking up to Embsay Reservoir with two large buckets and filling them with water and bringing them back to Park Avenue, (opposite Ermysteds) as I would have to do if I had no running water. You could offer to sponsor me a fixed amount or take a risk and Sponsor a given amount per litre of water gathered.

The money I raise, goes straight to Raleigh International, and helps pay for the materials which will be used during the projects, and not for my own flights or kit. To find out more about Raleigh International and the work the do please click here.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.