I am very excited to be telling you about a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will be doing next summer - I will be going on a school trip to Namibia, doing a school programme that the EHRA (Elephant-Humans Relation Aid), a fantastic charity over there, runs for secondary school students. We will be spending one week in a primary school engaging with the school children and helping with a renovation project, ensuring that students can receive a safe and happy education in adequate buildings and with the appropriate resources. Another week will be spent going on a 70km trek through the Namibian desert, improving our navigation and teamwork skills and sleeping under the stars at night. A fundamental part of this challenge is raising £2,400 for the trip. This money will fund all of our expenses including flights, transport, guides, living costs and also donations to the projects we will be working on. When I was younger I struggled with hearing loss, and therefore always making me quite anxious around doing physical activities. Over the years I've developed much more confidence within myself to perform such activities but nevertheless going to Namibia will be a huge challenge for me. However, I am completely determined to go and face every challenge with enthusiasm and confidence and I know that this is something I need to do to instill in me the self belief that I can do anything I put my mind to! I will be doing a lot of fundraising over the next year to fund the trip, but my main challenge coming up is walking 26.2 miles (a marathon) around London on Saturday 9th September 2017 - good practice for my hike in Namibia. I really appreciate you reading this and for your continuous support. Love Tara x