Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Well the old globetrotting has been enjoyable and Sue and I have seen some great sights. Importantly the further we go the more we realise how lucky we are to have been born in the UK. VSO grabbed our attention at the Adventure Travel Show in Jan 2013. A compulsive chat with one of the team had us heading to a selection day and now we have possibly 6 weeks to go before flying to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania! I'm not quite sure what happened but here goes!

VSO is different from most organisations that fight poverty. Instead of sending money or food, it brings people together to share skills and knowledge. Every pound that we raise brings people together to spark a chain reaction which means that fighting poverty can be sustainable and long-lasting.

So far VSO have sent over 40,000 volunteers of 94 nationalities to work in 34 countries around the world. There are currently around 1,500 VSO volunteers working overseas and from 2014 one of those will be me!!!

The money you help me raise will not go towards my personal overseas placement. Instead, to ensure your money is directed where it will do the most good, the VSO design their placements in cooperation with local partners, who have the frontline knowledge to determine where the need is greatest.

For example £1,500 could help VSO....

• Keep an HIV and AIDS specialist in Tanzania, training local professionals and students to prevent HIV in newborns.
• Keep a financial consultant in Tanzania, helping women’s groups establish profitable business relationships and send their children to school.
• Keep a teacher-trainer in Nepal, establishing access to good education for the poorest children. 
• Keep someone like me, hopefully helping school leaders and teachers to raise standards and quality of delivery in Primary and Junior secondary schools in the Shinyanga region to the south of Lake Victoria.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details 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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.