Thanks for taking the time to visit my page. I plan to cycle from Glasgow to IATEFL Belfast to raise money for Amala. 

Amala delivers educational programmes to refugee communities all over the world. Their programmes are delivered directly by Amala teams as well as in collaboration with on the ground partners whose missions are aligned to our own. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Polly Akhurst, Holli Ghaisen and Rania Dadoul as part of the recent, Teaching through Crisis series of Facebook Lives I've been doing for National Geographic Learning. The work they are doing in refugee camps in Kenya, Jordan and Greece blew me away. 

It's not the first time I've cycled to IATEFL. In 2019, I rode to Liverpool for Code your Future, another amazing charity which provides free computer coding classes for people from refugee backgrounds. 

This year, I will cycle 140 miles from Glasgow to Cairnryan, where I will catch the ferry to Belfast. I am cycling to an international TEFL conference where I am presenting a session on Graphic Facilitation for ELT professionals, and a Pecha Kucha on Journeys. 

I will set of early on Sat 14th, cycling around 100 miles, then breaking my journey in Galloway. I'll then cycle the remaining 40 miles to the conference on Monday. 

It's been a tough decision to do this. I've swithered a lot. I'm not so fit right now, I have trained and the Scottish weather is always a risk. I'll also be leaving my laptop, trusty marker pen collection and extensive conference wardrobe at home. It's been quite the logistical challenge. 

If you've read this far, I suspect you're rooting for me! Thanks in advance for your donation. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to other charities which sadly aren't linked up to JustGiving yet. I am grateful that the Teaching through Crisis series connected me to them and I hope you will explore them more and consider donating.

www.thepandoraproject.co.uk  provide support, training and respite to volunteers and humanitarians working in the field of refugee protection. 

www.projectelea.org is a group of volunteers from around the world who have come together to work collaboratively with the residents of the Eleonas refugee camp in Athens to improve living standards and community wellbeing. 

www.thehandsupproject.org is a charity which connects children around the world to young people in Palestine. They have a conference in Belfast on 21st of May which looks brilliant.