This Summer I am going to Ghana to teach English to children who have an education system that is quite different to the one that you and I have experienced. This is your chance to make an impact on the education system in Africa.  

In order to raise money for the ‘Warwick in Africa’ organisation, part of university of Warwick, a group of us will be doing the Three Peaks challenge. If you would like to know more about what the charity is about and where your money is going, please read the below paragraphs.

What is the Three Peaks challenge?

The three peaks challenge consists of climbing three of the highest mountains in Great Britain and I aim to do this in 24 hours. I will do this between the 9th and 10th of July. The mountains that I will climb are;

Ben Nevis (1344 m high)

Scafell Pike (987 m high)

Snowdon (1085 m high)

 What I will do in Africa

This summer, with the ‘Warwick in Africa’ charity, I am volunteering to teach African children English. The aim of this charity is to try and improve the children’s opportunities in life. As you are well aware, children in Africa have a lot less opportunities in life than you or I have had and this charity event is an attempt to try an change all of that. Even if it makes just a small difference, a small difference is better than no difference.

We are going to teach these children in less than ideal circumstances, there are no fancy interactive whiteboards, no powerpoint presentations and maybe even no textbooks, exercise books, writing materials e.g. pens.  

African classrooms are small and class sizes are often large. I will be teaching in a summer programme that the schools in Ghana have set up. This programme is not compulsory. Children choose to go there because they want to learn.  

The Warwick in Africa programme sends groups of English and Maths teachers to several African countries every year and makes a huge difference in the following ways:

 1. For the children, it means better grades, self belief, more ambition and motivation to achieve and a different perspective on education and the world of possibilities. Many of them will not have met a native speaker of English before.

 2. For the African teachers in the schools, who may only have a rudimentary knowledge of the subject they teach and old fashioned teaching techniques, it means new ideas and skills, better subject knowledge, greater confidence and ambition.

 3. For the local communities these schools serve, it means more successful young people, more belief in and support for education and better race relations.

 4. For you the donor, it means value for money, because £16.20 is all it costs to educate one child for a month with Warwick in Africa, which will make a huge difference to that child's life. What's more, the cost is always coming down, because each time the programme runs, it does so on a bigger, more efficient scale. But there's more! Long after the Warwick teachers are gone, the impact on the local schools, local teachers and communities' attitudes to education and aspiration continues to be felt, and the total effect of the scheme is immeasurable.

Please donate!

I realise I've written quite a lot, but I thought that it was important. If you would still like to find out more, visit the Warwick in Africa page at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/alumni/giving/priority/responsibility/warwickinafrica/ 

The Warwick in Africa programme needs donations in order to send teachers like me over there. Remember, £16.20 pays for one child's top-class education for a month.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my fundraising page, now here's a message from Justgiving about your donation:

About JustGiving

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Big thanks in advance for the donations, I promise it will be money well spent J