In January 2019 I will be travelling to Malawi to spend time with my great friend Henry, who inspires me daily with this intelligence, generosity and spirit.

I will be volunteering on Henry's campsite that he has founded and nurtured. KINGFISHER hosts the SEKAWANO VOLUNTEER PROGRAM. Sekawano means "rough with us" in the Tumbuka language which is spoken in Northern Malawi. Henry grew up in Nthekele which is near Thekelo where the campsite is based.

Henry hopes to develop clean and safe living conditions for those is surrounding areas and enable access to education and healthcare services. I have had the privilege of spending time with Henry in Cape Town where he works hard to support his wife, daughter, family and community in Malawi. We have gone on multiple hikes, visited Masiphumelele (a township where Henry once lived) and danced the night away whilst sharing the best stories (mainly from himself and by himself when I'm too shy).

For as long as I can remember (before wanting to be a nurse) I knew that one day I wanted to go to an African country and share my time, love and knowledge. Henry has given me that opportunity and this is the time - especially as I will get to celebrate my 25th Birthday there!

When I am in Malawi I will be helping to build up the campsite. I will give this a good go but I will be looking to get stuck in with anything healthcare related.

From previous volunteering, health promotion, research, dissertation writing, and current work I have basic knowledge on how to start this up. I really want to develop a system to log everyone in the area so they have their own traceable medical notes. I do not believe in 'volunteerism' nor will I ever support it so you can be assured I will never work beyond my skill set. I hope this will be the first of many trips...not a quick one to boost my CV!

So why have I made you read all of this?!...I NEED your love and support with funding please. I will be signing up to runs (small ones, I love you Henry but I am no Paula Radcliffe), bike rides and hikes. Work is time consuming and energy draining so I can't be doing extreme training. HOWEVER the biggie, I will be cycling the length of...LAKE MALAWI! I hope to do it in less than a week to spend more time in the village.

....funding for bricks, cement, laptops, tents, school equipment, school fees and lunches...

Lots more details will follow but I wanted to give you all a taster for what is to come over the next 6 months. THANK YOU for reading this far, I love you all and I hope you can support me on this!

xox