I'm cycling from Dover to Durness in the north of Scotland. Please help me to raise money to provide educational opportunities to children who live on the Mwakirunge garbage site in Mombasa. These really are children who have had lives of great hardship, but your sponsorship could make a huge difference to those.

I want to raise money in the first place to pay for the education of two children, Gladys and Hussain.

Gladys lives with her mother Esther and her three siblings near the garbage dump. Esther survives by selling potatoes and scavenging in the garbage.

Gladys has had to face significant challenges in her young life, as in July 2022 she suffered a stroke which involved paralysis of her right side, and loss of speech and hearing. Medical care paid for by GapKenya, along with intensive physiotherapy, enabled Gladys to make a complete recovery.

In 2023 Gladys completed her primary education, again paid for by the charity. She achieved well enough in her exams to qualify to attend a boarding High School, away from the garbage dump. She began this earlier this year - the first girl to do this from the Mwakirunge Garbage site, and able to go so long as the fees and expenses are met by the charity. Gladys therefore has a chance to have a different life from that usually experienced by girls on the garbage dump, who often ‘marry’ older men from the site whilst very young and quickly become mothers themselves; and are unable ever to escape a life on the garbage dump.

Gladys is doing well at school, achieving excellent end of term results despite the amount of school she had previously missed. Let's help to ensure she can stay there and complete an education we all take for granted.

Hussein lives with his mother and 6 siblings in a makeshift house on the garbage dump. His mother spends her days scavenging for food to eat and items to sell.

In 2021, Hussein’s youngest sister, Jennifer, died, aged just 3.

Hussein spent his days scavenging on the garbage dump for plastic bottles to sell. The only future he saw for himself was living and scavenging on the dump.

He was given the chance to attend primary school, however; completing this in October 2023 by doing exceptionally well in his exams, coming 2nd in his class. His mark enabled him to attend a boarding High School, away from the garbage dump.

Hussein began High School in January 2024, and loves his life in school. His dream is to become an airline pilot, a dream he could never have dared to hope for previously.

Please help keep Hussein at school too.

These are the two children I really want to help - children born into a life with practically nothing, including educational opportunity and prospects. The money I raise through this ride will go directly to funding their education.

Any donation amount will help in that - a little can go a very long way for these children, and so no amount is too small.

Many thanks.