Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am fundraising for St Catherine’s Hospice in Crawley; a local charity with big ambition. St Catherine’s vision is for a world where everyone facing death and bereavement can do so informed, supported and pain free. Their team of experts are there for people in West Sussex and East Surrey when they need support the most, and they rely on donations to be able to offer their pioneering care. Please donate today and help St Catherine’s be there for people when life comes full circle. 

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, my grandmother decided that they sell up and go to South Africa to start a new life.

Thus, my grandparents, uncle and 16 year old mother embarked on an amazing adventure.  In later life my grandmother always said that she should write a book, but sadly, she didn’t get round to it and there are so many questions I would like to ask.  They rarely spoke of their experiences and I didn’t think to ask, which I greatly regret.

They intended to trek right across Africa from north to south.  In those days there were no organised trips and I know that they had to travel in the back of lorries and any other transport they could find.  I can’t imagine how hard it must have been. 

They got as far as Nairobi, where they decided to settle and bought a hotel.  My mother met my father, an Army officer who was stationed there.  I came along and the rest is history.

I know so little about their amazing adventure and my early life in Kenya. Unfortunately, none of them are still alive to ask.  It took extraordinary courage for them to have left everything behind, to face unknown dangers in the hope of a better life.

Taking part in the St Catherine’s Sahara Trek will enable me to raise funds for the hospice and pay tribute to my family, particularly in the memory of my grandmother and mother who both died from cancer.