Story
Thanks for visiting my fundraising page!
This is what it's all about..... From March 2009, I'll be participating on a Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) exchange programme called Global Xchange (GX), between the UK and Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
My exchange is going to be 6 months long. Beginning in mid March, I'll spend 3 months in Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford along with a team of others from across the UK and from Kazakhstan. During this time we'll live with a local families whilst being involved in community work projects. In mid June our group will depart for Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan where we will again live with local families and work on local community projects for another 3 months. The themes of our exchange are disability, HIV/Aids, and orphanages so it is likely that most of the volunteering opportunities will be involved with these areas.
I am excited about this exchange as it is a valuable opportunity to make a practical difference to people's lives both in the UK and in Kazakhstan. I hope that through this challenge I will learn more about local and global development issues, and how I and others can be effective in tackling these issues.
The GX programme is a joint VSO and British Council initiative which is open to people between the ages of 18 and 25. Through international volunteer exchange, Global Xchange aims to build active global citizens, committed to working for positive change. It achieves this through exposing young people to different cultures and attitudes in an intense working and learning situation. By developing young people from Africa, Asia and the UK who are motivated to play an active role in both their local and global communities, Global Xchange promotes volunteering to build a fairer world.
So I'd be really pleased if you would sponsor me on this programme. It costs VSO around £6500 to send each volunteer on GX, however volunteers are only asked to fundraise a contribution of £600 towards the organisation's work. I've made a small start towards this total through busking in a local town and I'd really appreciate any further support you can offer! :)
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and completely secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Voluntary Service Overseas gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.