Thanks for visiting my fundraising page - every penny you donate is worth so much to this cause, so if you can spare anything then please donate.

I've done it! I have officially cycled from London to Paris - it took me 22 hours (excluding breaks) over 4 days and 290 miles. It was an amazing experience and the thought of raising all this money spurred me on up the steepest of hills when my muscles felt on the edge giving in.

To all of my sponsors so far, you are all amazing, generous people and without you this wouldn't have been possible. I'm so close to my target now that I really need all of you to dig deep once more! I haven't brought any presents back from Paris, instead I'm going to donate some money to help get to that total and beyond.

The charity I am raising money for, Chipembele Trust UK, is described over to the left of this page.

I've never done anything on this scale before, but having visited Anna & Steve over in Zambia on the Charity's frontline, the good work they head up is inspirational and the effort I've put into training for this event is worth every calorie!!

I'm aiming for the money to help the Trust in anyway possible, but as I know the Trustees personally, they have agreed that it will go towards the girls boarding accomodation at Mfuwe Day Secondary School as part of the Dormitory Appeal.  In fact, i received an e-mail recently saying that due to ever rising costs, they are seriously depending on my fundraising to pay for the interior of the baording house - please have a read about the appeal on their website.

I've been to the boys accommodation and this is how I'd describe it (bear in mind the girls don't currently even have this!): A room about 30m long, by 10m wide, bare concrete floor, no mosquito nets, few windows intact, no furniture and 78 boys crammed onto the floor space to sleep... Any of you that have been to boarding school, worked at one or send your own youngsters to one know that boarding isn't always easy, so imagine if the living conditions were as described above. Those young people I met out there were all very hard working and intent on achieving high marks - being schooled out there is such a privilege that the youngsters don't waste their time if they can afford to go.

Just to put any potential donations into perspective, £20 will buy 1 mattress for the girls dorm and £7 only will buy a blanket for one of the beds, so even if you can only afford a few pounds, your donation will still go a long way!

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Chipembele Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.