Hello and thank you for taking the time to visit my page!

 

As I am writing this, there’s only two and a half months to go before the trek and I am determined to raise as much money as I can; when I get to Malawi and meet the women MicroLoan are supporting, I really want to feel that I did as much as I could with this opportunity to help.

 

Thank you to everyone for your support so far, especially Ian, who has not only had to put up with me dedicating all my free time to fundraising, but a large proportion of his too (check out the photo of Ian making his Bolognese sauce for Claire’s Cooked Lunches in the photos section).

 

Claire’s Cooked Lunches involves me cooking a meal for my colleagues once a week and bringing it in for them to heat up for lunch, it is proving hugely popular and in the first 4 weeks I have made £82! I have also set up a tuck shop in the office which includes all your Youth Club classics (including Wham bars!) and home baked stuff too, so I am now very happily making money for MicroLoan which previously went to the supermarket down the road.

 

If you haven’t seen my YouTube video yet, or even if you have, please watch it! I need your views to win the JustTextGiving competition and a £500 donation, the video with the most views wins! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrSrYkpuIXE

 

Most of you know the deal by now, but if you haven’t already heard about what I am up to and why, please read on.

 

I am taking part in a trek in Malawi to raise funds for the MicroLoan Foundation, a small charity which is making a massive difference to the lives of women in Africa.

 

MicroLoan's approach is to offer a "hand up rather than a handout" and in a completely sustainable way. The charity provides small loans and mentoring to help women start businesses and work their way out of poverty. The average loan is £67 and the repayment rate is currently at 99%, which means that any donation to the charity is recycled time and time again. 

 

I recently met the people behind MicroLoan and was amazed by the difference they are making to the lives of these women and their families. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I am honoured to have the opportunity to help by taking part in the Malawi Challenge.

 

The company I work for are paying all the costs of the trek so any money I raise will go straight to MicroLoan and what's more, they will be matching anything I raise so please help me make the most of this!

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your d

etails 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.