The Under a Tarp Challenge:

John Watson Allison here.  I frequently served in war zones while serving with the British Army.  It wasn’t uncommon to find people who’d lost their home through conflict.  Homes destroyed, homes boobytrapped and mined too.  On one occasion I was serving as a Bomb Disposal Engineer in Bosnia.  During a route proving operation (ensuring that the area was safe) I found myself in a deserted village where all inhabitants had previously been either killed or displaced by war.  

What shocked me most, was the fact that the houses were frozen in time.  Although the inhabitants had fled or been taken away a long time prior to my visit, you could see that their possessions still remained in the house.  Clothes hanging up in cupboards, a tea cup on the kitchen table....     

Having retired from the Army,  I  regularly encountered the homeless problem while running StreetGym® in London and other European cities for several years.  StreetGym® helps participants to develop an improvisational mindset and learn how to use nothing but the urban landscape to workout and keep mentally/physically fit.  While weaving and exploring through the cityscape there was often ample evidence of people sleeping rough in the nooks and crannies of the city, hidden away from the public gaze, out of sight.

Homelessness affected me too, I once lived in a tiny van for a six month period so have some understanding of what it’s like to be classed as “no fixed abode“.  Homelessness can affect any one of us, no matter how big or strong.  

These experiences have led me to set up the Under A Tarp Challenge in support of all homeless.  People made homeless by domestic violence, abuse, addiction, injury, illness or through poverty.  This global challenge runs until 31 March 2021 and possibly beyond.  Anyone can take part, anywhere in the world.  You simply select a charity that supports the homeless.  You start fundraising, you build your own tarp shelter, improvised or off-the-shelf, you sleep in it from 7pm to 7am, on a cardboard bed and share your experience and your charity with us, using #UnderATarpChallenge  We will share your info on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube channels.

I’ll be sleeping out on 27 November 2020, under an improvised tarp shelter made from rubble sacks, You can find out how I made it here. I’ll be fundraising for Veterans Aid, they’ve been supporting veterans in need since 1932.

You can find out more about the Under A Tarp Challenge and how to take part yourself, including safety, here – www.underatarp.co.uk

Thanks very much indeed for any support you can offer.