I plan to swim 100 lengths (2.5km) in order to raise £1000 towards the costs of volunteering at Awutu-Winton Senior High School (AWSHS). AWSHS is the only fee-free Secondary School in Southern Ghana and relies mostly on volunteers to keep it running. I will do my swim on 10/06/2018 and Cece Rogers, who is also volunteering at AWSHS, will supervise and make sure I complete it properly.

In total, I aim to earn more than £2000 to subsidise the costs of the trip and to make a significant donation to AWSHS. I have already raised £500 by selling toasties at school and babysitting. My target for the sponsored swim is £1000 and anything raised over this will go directly to AWSHS. Please feel free to give as you think appropriate. However a suggested donation of 20p per length would be equivalent to £20 overall. My father has agreed to match what I raise from my sponsored swim so the more I raise, the more he must match!

In Ghana it is essential and compulsory to attend primary school. All primary schools are free to prevent poor families from keeping their children at home, working. Unfortunately, after 14, Secondary Schools are no longer free and most families cannot afford the school fees. This is why AWSHS makes such a difference for those lucky enough to attend it. There are 6.5 million people living under the poverty line in Ghana (23%).

Having lived abroad for the majority of my life, I have seen the effects that poverty can have on families and children from a young age. Many Ghanaian children's path to education will stop at the point where mine begins. I chose to volunteer for this school because it specifically deals with education ending poverty. I am thrilled and humbled to be part of the story that ends poverty.

It is for these reasons that I would thoroughly appreciate any donations that you choose to make.

- Peter Donker (Founder and Director of Education at AWSHS)