Friends and Family,

I am a Trustee with Amaudo UK, a UK-registered charity which works in partnership to create sustainable solutions for people with mental health needs in Nigeria. We raise funds to assist in the development of Amaudo Itumbauzo, through its work in residential, community and educational support services. Additionally, we raise awareness of mental health issues affecting local communities while providing guidance, training, and mentorship for the team.

While the pandemic was a difficult period of uncertainty for us all, people faced additional hardships in Nigeria. Violence and protests erupted in towns local to Amaudo, and the cost of the living crisis saw many people go hungry. Even with this worrying background Amaudo was determined to continue delivering a wide range of mental health services to those that needed them. Amaudo has worked with the Abia State Primary Health Care Development Agency to launch a new primary health care clinic in Itumbauzo, providing health care to local communities.

5,000+ people accessed support through Amaudo's Community Mental Health Programme, 400 people attended the 'pop up' mental health clinic in Arochukwu, and the Amaudo team opened a new primary health clinic to provide care to local villagers.

This example is only one of the tremendous impacts Amaudo has had on the local community. I believe the possibilities to make a difference are truly endless

I will be hiking Patagonia in January 2023 and dedicating this trip to raising funds for a significant challenge Amaudo is currently facing - transportation.

The vast area the projects cover, the cost of maintaining vehicles and the nature of the roads travelled every day all continue to make this a very present challenge to the work they are committed to. Amaudo's primary centre vehicle is over eight years old and has suffered greatly travelling on the poor roads (dirt tracks!) around Amaudo.

The costs of maintaining the vehicle are incredibly high, and it's unreliability is frustrating and disruptive. A new car is essential for Amaudo and will enable us to provide vital mental health support to over 50,000 people in highly inaccessible, rural locations over the next five years. This will allow us to continue transforming lives and fulfilling our mission to increase the community's understanding of mental health whilst reducing the stigma that prevents so many from getting the help which could save their lives.