Back in November I took a solo trip to Panama and met a young woman (Fergie) who claimed to be from ‘The North’. This sparked up a lengthy conversation about the meaning of the North and we have stayed in touch ever since! At Christmas, Vivienne Westwood died and we got chatting about what an incredible woman she was and Fergie mentioned that, amongst all the other amazing things, she had been a patron for her dad’s charity. Being nosey I asked what the charity did and the next thing you know she’s got me signed up for a bike ride from London to Paris for said charity!

It felt really important to me to be able do something for such a worthy charity, as it is the least I can do to hop on a bike when the team take their own time, money and expertise over to help those most in need. People who have so little when we have so much. Please read more about IDEALS and the fantastic work they do below:

"The IDEALS mobile health clinic is the best service we receive because they keep coming back when other organisations disappear, they treat us with respect and understand our needs and the battles we fight every day. They provide free medicines that we simply cannot afford to buy" Ghada, Syrian refugee.

IDEALS has been working with our local partner, Blue Mission, providing life-saving support for 25,000 Syrian refugees, Palestinian refugees and poor Lebanese families in south Lebanon since 2017. We provide essential primary health care, maternal and mental health services. All these services are provided free of charge and our team of doctors, nurse, midwife, psychologists and social workers travel to each settlement in a dedicated vehicle, maximising access to these vital services and avoiding any transport costs for beneficiaries.

£20 - provides essential lifesaving drugs for 40 patients

£50 - enables our midwife to provide critical care for 15 pregnant and breastfeeding women