So this is a personal one for me.

In 2014, along with 19 colleagues from BGL, we fundraised to help Build It provide a new school for the remote Kabaka community in Kapiri, Zambia. We were lucky enough to visit Kabaka ourselves to witness just what a special community it is, and to take part in exploring the new school, help painting it, take some lessons, plant an orchard outside the school to provide food source for the children and generate income for the school, and provide goal posts for the football field and a netball court, then follow it up by playing football and netball with the community.

It was such an absolutely incredible experience for us all and left us with friends for life and memories we will never ever forget.

So the 2023 Build It Zambia Cycle Challenge will see us cycle a total of around 500km from Build It HQ in Lusaka to Livingstone over 6 days, while visiting some of the fantastic projects completed by Build It and funded by your donations, along the route, taking us on-road and off-road through the towns and villages of rural Zambia, passing farmland and sugar cane plantations, spotting wildlife and the everyday scenes of untouched Zambian village life.

Too many young people in Zambia are denied access to even the most basic education and training. With every day that passes, more and more of these young people fall through the cracks, destined to never achieve their full potential. Build It teach young, unemployed people to be builders through our Training into Work programme. Their new skills means they can find work, earn a living and provide for their families. They help us build new classrooms and health facilities, bringing essential services to some of Zambia's most disadvantaged communities.

£50 pays for a toolkit for each trainee: 10+ basic tools to be able to work in construction

£100 pays for continued support for a graduate with finding a job, tendering advice, and technical material

£900-£1,200 pays for one trainee to complete the training programme 

Many many thanks for your support,

Jon