Hello!

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

For 6 months from March I shall be taking part in a volunteering programme called Global Xchange, which is organised by Voluntary Services Overseas and British Council. I shall be one of nine British and nine Zambian young people who will spend three months volunteering in Swansea, Wales, followed by three months in Chipata, Zambia. See what the BBC says about Zambia here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1069294.stm 

The theme of my exchange is ‘Youth Partipation’ so in both Swansea and Chipata our volunteering work will be based around giving practical help through local organisations to engage young people in their communities.

We will be staying in host families, and as well as the working and organising events, we will help to give the Zambians an insight into British culture, just as we hope to gain an insight into their too. This will be the six months of a lifetime for me and the other Brits, but also for the Zambians, many of whom would not otherwise have opportunity to travel to Britain. In fact, appallingly enough, I’ve only ever visited Wales once in my lifetime, so during the placement I’ll be discovering two new countries! An aspect I value highly of the programme is that the exchange element recognises that the UK is in need of help in some ways as much as economically-poorer countries like Zambia. We’ll do our best!

Any donation you are able to give would be very gratefully received by me and Global Xchange. It will go towards the training, accommodation, visa applications, flights etc of future Global Xchange programmes. At the moment each participant costs Global Xchange nearly £7000 but we are asked to raise a minimum of just £600 which enables people from all backgrounds to be a part of the programme.

To find out more please visit www.vso.org.uk/globalxchange

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally 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.

So please sponsor me now! Thanks so much!