17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every single day in the UK (one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world), yet very little is being done to bring this horrific number down.

On the 4th January 2013 in Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, our niece Summer Ruby Dawson was born sleeping. The still birth charity SANDS has been a great support to Summer's family and they are there to help anybody affected by such a tragic loss. I am aiming to raise awareness of a charity before which even I had known nothing about, and to raise money that will be able to make a significant amount of difference to families who need support, and to hopefully aid SANDS in continuing to fund research for improved healthcare for mothers and their babies.

I will be cycling across two countries for approx. 550km over 8 days of my 12 day challenge (The other days spent mainly flying with a little free time) from Vietnamese Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, through the rice paddies and waterways of the Mekong Delta into Cambodia. It is a challenging cycle in hot and humid conditions that will push my limits and I will be well and truly out of my comfort zone in a completly new place with completly new people, but it is an area that has always fascinated me and I would love to learn more about the culture first hand. It is time I challenge myself and do something that really makes a difference.

I am funding my own trip myself, and you can be confident that 100% of your donations made will go straight to the charity SANDS and not to paying my transport costs!

Thanks so much for reading and to the ones who have already donated - I love you all!

 Lee Howorth :-)

 

P.s - You can now text donate by texting LEEH97 £3 to 70070