Hello :)

Thank you very much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page!

Recently, I have been given an amazing opportunity to go on a journey of a lifetime to Africa by a charity called Journey of a lifetime Trust (JOLT) who help to make a postive and lasting difference to the lives of young people from the ages of 14-21 who have faced significant disadvantages in their lives.

Here's a little bit about my story. In 2009, I was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension that affects 1 in 100,000 people and required frequent admission to hospitals and an extensive treatment plan including 38 lumbar punctures, 5 shunt surgeries, ICP monitoring and 60 tablets a day for a year. However despite this and having certain caring responsibilites within my family, I continued with my studies for my GCSEs at home and sat some of them whilst an inpatient in hospital. This enabled me to progress to study A-levels at Varndean College and hopefully go to University and pursue my goal of becoming a Speech and Language Therapist in September.

In my first year at college, I lost someone very dear to me which has changed my outlook on life and has made me realise how important it is to pursue every opportunty life has to offer you and that despite hardship you can achieve the unachievable.

A few months ago, I was nominated by an additional support teacher from my college to be put forward for this Journey of a Lifetime to Africa. I was ( and still am!) absolutely amazed to receive the news that I had made it down to the final 24 candidates and felt honoured to be chosen to go on this incredible journey.

The journey will consist of 4 weeks travelling through South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zambia. The journey will be challenging yet rewarding and I look forward to experiencing different cultures and witnessing widlife in their natural habitat, learning valuable lifeskills which I can apply to my own life aswell as making long lasting friendships with others who have had similar life experiences.

Prior to the journey, each young person has to raise at least £650 for the Journey of a Lifetime Trust however it would be brilliant to raise as much as I can for this charity. For my fundraising, I am doing a sponsored walk from Rottingdean Beach to Carats Cafe in Portslade on the 13th April  (8.3 miles) dressed in an safari animal onsie.

Please vote on which safari animal I will be dressed as for my sponsored walk. There will be photographic evidence to follow!!

You can vote here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6Z87JGL

I am also doing a cake sale on wednesday 2nd April during both break and lunchtime in the college canteen. 

There is also an Easter egg raffle (£1 per strip) where you can win a large Cadbury easter egg, a Cadbury hen house or a Freddo easter egg as well as 10 chocolate bunnies as runner up prizes. Tickets will be available from Thursday 27th March during lunchtimes in the canteen or email me at 59381@student.varndean.ac.uk for tickets. The prize draw will be on thursday 2nd April at 1.30pm.

Thank you for all your support and I really appreciate any sponsorship towards this amazing opportunity.