In February I will be going to Ethiopia as a VSO volunteer. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa (90+ million) and one of the poorest in the world. There is an urgent need to increase the number of professionals who can address the growing problems of inadequate housing and urban expansion. I am going in response to a request from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for experienced academics in the field of architecture and planning. Newcastle University has agreed to give me time off – and until September I will be based at Addis Ababa University in the Ethiopian Institute for Architecture Building Construction and City Development (EiABC).  My main task is to support local academics in strengthening the capacity of the university to train professionals to address the country’s housing needs.

 

VSO is a charity which relies on donations to be able to continue its important development work throughout the world. All VSO volunteers are encouraged to raise money to support the work of VSO and all the money raised goes directly to the organisation – and not to individual volunteers.

 

All volunteers are asked to raise £1,500. This is not an easy task, but I have a plan – a series of sponsored swims! I dislike swimming pools but love swimming in lakes. The Lake District has dozens of lakes/waters/tarns etc and according to Wikipedia almost 100. That’s too many for me – but I hope to manage at least 20. Unfortunately this is not the best time of year for swimming in cold water but I have bought a wet suit and already swum in 11. I also hope to swim in a few lakes in Ethiopia (including Lake Tana which is the source of the Blue Nile).

 

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. I hope you will support me generously.  Many thanks.

 

More information about VSO: http://www.vso.org.uk/