My name is Leah West and I am a 16 year old student at Carluke High School. In the summer of 2019 I along with other students from my school will be participating in a month long overseas expedition to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Costa Rica is the most developed country in South America meanwhile Nicaragua is the least developed in South America, these countries both have a massive divide between them however they both deal with extreme conditions of poverty, something I myself have fortunately never had to go through nor witnessed.

Whilst on this Expedition we aim to make the slightest difference in the lives of those living in these countries by spending time contributing to both the local community and environment.

We will do this by spending time with the local people in helping with the ongoing work to promote both nature conservation and rural ecotourism with the aim of protecting the tropical dry forest that is under threat in Nicaragua.

We will also take part in the very challenging trek across a volcanic range, camping below an active crater with the chance to see lava, before hiking up the active volcano of Cerro Negro (725m) 🙈 we will then "volcano board" right back down to the bottom.

We will be spending time on the Nicoya Peninsula working on a sea turtle project where we will be learning & contributing to help eliminate the threat these amazing creatures face.

As well as working hard we will also have time for an exciting adventure on our last day of the trip, we will get to experience the thrills & spills of white water rafting.

This will truly be an experience of a lifetime...As well as equipping me with life skills & an understanding of other cultures i'm certain the lessons I learn along the way will stay with me forever.

However one of the greatest challenges I have been faced with to date is raising the funds to facilitate this trip, in total this expedition will cost me £4195, £1200 of this has to be paid by March. This will simply not be possible if i do not fundraise, so any type of donation would be more than appreciated.

Over the next 18 months i will be fundraising, using different methods in order to ensure I achieve my goal. With such a tight deadline to raise a large sum of money, it will be difficult, but I am hoping that with my creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit this is something I can and will achieve.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story it has always been a dream of mine to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves & contributing to help make the world we live in better, you can help make my dream come true by making a donation to my page and participating in any future fundraising events.

Leah x