As anyone who has ever met me knows only too well... being silent is not something that comes easily to me! As the person who lives with it all the time Rupert gets the brunt of it so it is no great surprise that he has come up with the great idea that I should do a sponsored silence to raise money for Rodgers.

On Friday 21 September 2012 I am doing a 12 hour sponsored silence from 8am to 8pm. Rupert is planning to try and set up a webcam at home so if anyone is really that interested they will be able to watch me being silent – not sure how that will work but details later! Alternatively if anyone wants to come and spend some time with me during the course of the day, in silence, they are more than welcome. Any sponsorship, however tiny, is very much appreciated. The challenge for me will be pretty huge but nothing in comparison to the challenges that Rodgers has already faced, and will continue to face in his life. Every penny I can raise will help make those challenges a little bit easier. 

All are welcome to witness the finale of this great event which will culminate in 'The Breaking of the Silence' at 8pm. If you would like to join us and be with me in my final hour of silence, please come for a drink in the pub from 7pm to 8pm and then a very 'chatty' curry! We will finally select the venues for pubs and curry based on predicted numbers but it will be in Oxford from 7pm on Friday 21st September.

If you think you might want to come, do let us know so we have an idea of numbers to accommodate! For anyone coming from a distance, I am sure we can find some beds!!

About Rodgers:

Rodgers is a boy who lives in one of the rural villages in Kenya that Rupert's charity Footsteps (www.foostepsuk.org) supports. Rupert has known Rodgers for 4 years and he is an exceptional boy who is now 15 years old. He is humble, enthusiastic, hard working, respectful and extremely caring of other children in his school and he is mad about sports. He wants to be a teacher when he grows up. 

Rodgers tragically lost his mother and father to HIV when he was a young boy and has been brought up by an uncle ever since. Rupert met his uncle 2 years ago in their mud hut and he had no work, was going out looking for food on the land, sent Rodgers out to do any scrap of work that they could find and sadly he is also an HIV case who will almost certainly lose his fight for life.

Now his Uncle has run out of money and can therefore no longer support Rodgers' school fees so Rupert and I have decided to support Rodgers by raising the funds to get him through secondary education and give him a chance in life. Over 4 years, this will cost about £1,000 but will give a very special boy a chance he so deserves and he is desperate to give it his all.

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.