Hi, Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm foolishly taking part in an intensive 5 day Bear Grylls challenge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe!

My aim is to raise £10,000 for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), there are more details  about MAAC below. This is a great cause that provides an essential service that really does save lives every day. M6Toll have supported MAAC for the last 13 years, donating over £250k to date.

M6Toll has partnered with MAAC for their 25yr anniversary and as part of this I've taken up the 'Bear Grylls challenge'!

Set in one of the world's most challenging environments, the course culminates in a 36 hour expedition.  The group will be transported to bush camp in Nakavango Conservation Centre where we will receive our 'Priorities in Survival' brief!! 

During day 1 to 3 of the course, I will be learning all of the necessary skills required for the final 36 hour expedition - how to track, stalk and navigate without a compass; find, purify and filter rancid water; forage for food; build a survival shelter; set traps; find and prepare meals; how to navigate difficult terrains and emergency first aid skills.

On day 4 we will leave camp with just a knife and an empty water canteen before heading across the open Africa terrain (avoiding the Africa's big 5 predators), arriving at the Zambezi River where we have to cross extreme white water, a 200m vertical gorge, rugged cliffs and craggy outcrops; finally arriving on a beach, trapped in a gorge where we have to survive the night... then on day 5 its a race back to the top of the gorge to make sure we meet our helicopter pick up time and its back to civilization.

As Bear says "It may hurt a little".

Many Thanks

James

Midlands Air Ambulance is the charity responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.

Since 1991, the charity has responded to more than 46,000 missions averaging 2,000 per year.

The charity’s three aircraft each carry a crew comprising pilot, two paramedics or flight doctors plus full life-support medical equipment. Operating from strategically located regional airbases, 90 per cent of the region is within reach within eight minutes.

If a patient reaches hospital within the Golden Hour (60 minutes after their injury) their chances of survival are dramatically increased.

Midlands Air Ambulance receives no Government or National Lottery funding. Each Midlands Air Ambulance mission costs £2,500 and in excess of £7 million is needed each year to keep its three air ambulances operational, which is donated entirely by the public and local businesses.