June & July 2010 sees the FIFA World Cup take place in South Africa - the 1st time it has ever been held on the African continent. On June 12th I'll be heading to Durban with around 150 other volunteers as part of the Lionsraw team that will be working in The Valley of a Thousand Hills. As idyllic as that location sounds, the beauty of the Valley hides the dreadful reality of it being the epicentre of the African HIV/AIDS crisis, where thousands of deprived children live with the reality of this disease every single day of their lives. Most of them have been orphaned because of HIV/Aids. Working alongside existing local charities, we'll be helping to deliver construction projects & run football coaching acadamies for these kids during the first 2 weeks of the World Cup. We know that the eyes of the world will be on South Africa during the 4 weeks that it hosts the World Cup, but The Valley of a Thousand Hills & the kids that live there are the part of South Africa that the organisers simply won't want you to see. We know that we can't solve all of the problems for these kids, but rather than simply accepting that, turning away & doing nothing, our aim is to make their lives that little bit better by building new schools & houses for them, leaving them with memories & friendships that will inspire them & last a lifetime.

I believe that everyone should do at least one thing during their lifetime for someone who will never be able to repay them for it. In helping to fund what Lionsraw is doing on this trip, that's exactly what you'll be doing. So please can I ask you to seriously consider making a donation to Lionsraw. Anything you give will go directly to meeting the material costs of funding the project - none of it will go towards getting me there - I've already taken care of that myself. It will mean the World to these kids!!

Thank You.