Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

As a once in a life time summer challenge I was going to Swim the 3 Lochs from fort William to Inverness. After this holiday was cancelled by the organisers I waited patiently for a new challenge. The Outer Hebrides Island to Island Swim over 8 days from 12th to 19th August 2017. I'll be covering all costs of the accommodation, food, safety cover and swimming kit for myself as part of a group of 11 swimmers. If you would like to join me sign up with Swim Trek but hurry just 1 place left now!

Inevitably people ask "what for?" Well, it would be churlish of me to pass up the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for a good cause. I've been aware of the problems of safe drinking water and sanitation in Africa for most of my life having lived there for 4+ years as a child and worked there for 3 years as an adult. It seems amazing but 16 years into the 21st Century, 650 million people lack safe water. After reading about this on various large charities' websites I decided Water for Africa was a cause I could support with all my heart. I particularly like that the trustees cover the costs of the charity so that donations can go 100% to the water projects in Africa. They only put in high quality, safe, deep bore wells and they train up local Africans to drill, to maintain and to further develop their projects. They don't drill a well and leave, either; they continue to work with their projects on a permanent basis. 

Read more about how they organise community involvement so that the benefits of safe local water are turned into sustainable development for the wider community on their website - start with "The Marathon Walker" video at: https://vimeo.com/132433612 , then navigate the menu header tabs on their site: http://www.waterforafrica.org.uk, I hope you'll agree we owe our fellow humans a hand in their time of need.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.