*****************************************UPDATE - 18/07/10****************************************

I completed the swim on Thursday 1st July - I have uploaded a few pictures of the swim so take a look by clicking on the photos on the left. It took me around 3 and a half hours with a slight detour due to a small current and a bit of a navigational error....Thank you to everyone that sponsored me, I really appreciate it and it definitely helped to motivate me to complete the challenge! If you have not sponsored me, it is not too late to do so! 

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This summer, I will be trying to swim just under three and a half miles for the charity Moving Mountains (see below for more information about the charity). If you have ever seen me swim you will know that I am pretty bad at it, so this distance will be quite challenging for me (hopefully do-able with some training!). I am planning to do the swim in a lake in Italy (Lago di Vico) and will swim from one side to the other, and back again, which according to Google maps, is around 3.47 miles.

The charity I have chosen to raise money for is Moving Mountains (for more information please see http://www.movingmountains.org.uk/ and the section to the left hand side of this page). When I went to Kenya 2 summers ago we had the opportunity to see some of the work Moving Mountains does there, such as the recently built maternity wing of a medical clinic in Kibera. I met some of the members of Moving Mountains and saw the huge impact this charity has had on their lives. We met the managing director of the Kenyan branch of Adventure Alternative, Kelly, (this company covers all the overheads of Moving Mountains and was also set up by Gavin Bate, who founded Moving Mountains). Gavin originally met Kelly when he was a street child living in Kibera: Moving Mountains then helped Kelly through school and college before employing him, where Kelly now runs the company in Kenya.

The company Adventure Alternative is a trek and adventure company (owned and run by Gavin - the Moving Mountains charity founder) which covers all the costs of running Moving Mountains. What this means is that every single penny that is fundraised and donated to Moving Mountains goes directly towards the various charitable projects - there are NO costs/overheads and any money raised for the charity is not spent paying for things such as staff wages, electricity bills for the office/any other hidden costs that most charities require in order to be run. By donating money on this justgiving page, 100% of the money donated goes directly to the charity to fund projects such as the water project that we are involved with this summer.

The experience in Kenya encouraged Dot and I to organise a trip to Nepal this summer through RAG to raise money for Moving Mountains and see & be involved in the work they do in Nepal. We will be volunteering in a village called Bumburi in the foothills of the Himalayas. One of the main projects the group will be doing is finishing the 'Bumburi Water Project' which will connect the 75 houses in the village to a new, clean, running water system (see "photos" for pictures of the beginning of this project!). As a group we will also run a dental clinic, help set up and run a first aid post and take a number of other activities such as sport and music with the children & conduct a health survey of the village.

Every penny of the money you donate will be going directly to Moving Mountains. More specifically, the money we raise will fully cover the costs of the Bumburi water project, the costs of starting a clinic in Bumburi, help with other costs such as paying for all the teachers, books for the schools, children's school fees and also contribute to future development projects of Moving Mountains. This charity has no overheads, as they are all covered by the company Adventure Alternative, so all the money raised for Moving Mountains can go directly towards the work of the charity. Moving Mountains also does not get any grants, so are entirely reliant on donations and sponsorship.

If you are interested please look at this short youtube video of Gavin (the founder of Moving Mountains and Adventure Alternative) describing the work of the charity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n69yPQGcSJY

Thank you very much for looking at this page, Moving Mountains is a charity with a great cause and is very unique in that it has no overheads and works closely with local communities to provide economically sustainable aid which has a great impact on so many people. I would really appreciate it if you would have a look at the website and the youtube video above and donate to Moving Mountains! I have fully funded the trip to Nepal myself, and all the money I am raising through fundraising and sponsorship is for the charity. By sponsoring me, you are not paying for me to go to Nepal, you are directly donating to the charity.

Thank you!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Just in case you were wondering why I have photos of the Elizabeth Shaw and Pizza Provencale logos on my page:

Elizabeth Shaw (a Bristol based chocolate company) very kindly sponsored our Nepal trip this summer by funding the cost of T-shirts for each individual going on the trip. http://www.elizabethshaw.co.uk/

Pizza Provencale (a Pizza restaurant in Clifton) also very kindly sponsored our Nepal trip by funding the cost of a first aid course for everyone going to Nepal this summer. http://www.pizzaprovencale.co.uk/