In 1995 I spent three months living out of a hammock in the Amazon jungle on my first Raleigh International expedition. I'd left school with no qualifications and no real idea what I was doing. That trip changed everything.

Now I'm a tutor at ITEC. I work with 16 to 20 year olds trying to get into training and work, a lot of them exactly where I was back then. It's a big part of why I do the job I do.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to go back with Raleigh. This time it's South Africa, working on environmental and community projects with people who actually need it.

Raleigh ask every volunteer to raise money towards their place on the expedition, in my case just under £3,000. On top of that I'm covering my own flights, jabs and kit. All of it gets me out there, but the money raised for Raleigh also goes towards the work they do in the communities they work with, not just my place on the trip.

I'm also running 500km over the next 20 weeks to help raise it. Everything donated here goes straight to Raleigh.

If you can spare anything, thank you. If you can't, sharing this page helps just as much.

Jamie