Just Giving Page

Hello all! Thank you very much for coming to visit my Just Giving Page.

Let me tell you about my fundraiser.

In January 2015 I have been offered the chance to leave the North in return for a 12 week stint in Kenya - quite the deal if you ask me! Not only that, but the International Citizen’s Service (ICS) have paid for me to go! I want to use this space to explain this perfect opportunity and how your donations will help. Please read on…

What is ICS?

ICS was set up to provide young volunteers the opportunity to visit countries like Kenya to act as an integral cog in the UK Aid machine. Typically ICS volunteers would provide HIV education, or water treatment advice. However, since this summer, ICS has created a new scheme known as ICS Entrepreneur - the scheme in which I will take part. 

Its foundational aim of the scheme is to alleviate poverty by providing support to entrepreneurs in some of the poorest countries on earth. It is a sustainable development programme whereby UK and Kenyan volunteers provide educational and capital assistance to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. The beauty of this program is that its effect continues long after we, as volunteers, leave.

So what will I be doing?

I’m sure that many of you know that Kenya is a very poor country. Something that you may not know is that 65% of 16-24 year olds are without work. That’s quite a statistic when in the UK that figure is 16% and it is far worse than the most badly affected Eurozone countries. This programme aims to alleviate some of that unemployment by growing businesses.

When in Kenya, I will be paired with a Kenyan volunteer. I will live with them and will be fully immersed in their way of life. In teams of 4 (2 Kenyan and 2 UK volunteers) we will then be paired with 8 local entrepreneurs. Ultimately, will seek to develop their businesses. Each entrepreneur is different. One may have an existing business whereas another, just an idea. Over 9 weeks we will work with them to grow their businesses. Finally, we will assist them in their pitch in order to raise any funds to be invested back into their business.

This is all quite hard to imagine so I think it is best to give you a typical example:

Mama Glo started cooking packed lunches, after loosing her job, in order to provide for her three children. She would deliver packed lunches to 10-15 people in her local town. ICS volunteers were able to identify new customers, market the product better and win new orders. By the end of the programme she had more than tripled her customers, now delivering over 50 lunches each day! They also funded her to open a second kitchen in town to grow her business further.

Where does your money go?

If you recall the example of Mama Glo, I mentioned that she was funded to open a second kitchen. This is because a portion of the money raised by each volunteers enters a communal pot. At the end of week 9, with our help, the entrepreneurs pitch to a panel in order to raise funds for their business idea. Mama Glo managed to raise enough to open a new kitchen and there are many other examples of similar successes. So your money doesn’t perish. It has the capability to be worth two, or even three, times its value once it is utilised by these entrepreneurs.

The remainder is used to enable people from the UK to have the same opportunity to engage in this project. It is massively important that we are consistent as a nation to alleviate poverty. Your donations will allow this to happen.

What I will do for you

This is the last section, so if you’ve made it this far you are a true warrior! Obviously I don't expect to be given money for nothing so I’ve cobbled together some plans which make me that bit more deserving.

1. On Sunday 23rd November I am partaking in the Conway half marathon. I’ve done zero training, so am sure to get injured; but this is for those of you who I can’t get to to offer my services in a more direct way.

2. For those of you that I can reach, I am from today, until the 5th December, a willing labourer happy to undertake any task that you need doing. Be that gardening, moving heavy things, acting as a ‘free’ taxi service. Whatever it is that you can think of, I will attempt to do. 

3. In true fundraising fashion I will be doing regular cake sales, car boot sales - in fact all the sales.

4. For those of you that don’t know I am currently working for the Co-op and have gained an array of skills, not least the ability to pack bags. Bag-packing will be the final spike in my four pronged attack (at least for now).

I have until 12pm, 5th December to raise the £800 needed for me to go. I will be forever grateful to those of you who help me achieve this target, and you can rest in the knowledge that your donations have made a genuine difference to the lives of the very poorest. 

I’ll be sure to keep you all updated with my progress and I can’t wait to get started.

Much love,

Tim. 

For those of you interested in this programme have a look at these websites:

http://www.volunteerics.org/ics-entrepreneur - The main ICS site.

http://www.balloonics.org/ - This is the group with which I am going. Essentially, ICS have given Balloon Ventures a contract for a certain number of places. They have been a real pleasure to work with so far and I advise anyone going to choose them as your provider.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.