Much love to everyone who helps me in my cause... it means alot. :D

Your donations will go towards supporting the work of GX through International Citizen Service (ICS) and will enable ICS to continue sending youth volunteers, like me, to the developing world to make a lasting difference in disadvantaged and impoverished communities. Every penny counts and all the money I raise will go straight to ICS. So please dig deep! I really need your help to reach my target and play my part in fighting poverty through ICS.

Global Exchange gives hundreds of young adults from the UK the chance to help improve the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. It is aimed at young people aged between 18 and 22. It will be a life changing experience for me and for all the other volunteers. I will be living in a host home in Bangladesh for 3 months. I will get the amazing opportunity to experience and learn first-hand about life in Bangladesh and how global poverty can be reduced. This experience will be life changing and I’m excited to get out there!! Share my knowledge of the world and also learn more. Whilst in Bangladesh I will be working to strengthen local agencies that are concerned with the rights and participation in society of rural, marginalised and vulnerable groups of people; in particular women and indigenous peoples. i will volunteer under one of the three themes, water and sanitation, primary health or dairy farming. I am yet to learn more about exactly where in Bangladesh i will be going and on what theme i will be specifically working towards.

Over half of Bangladesh’s population are below the poverty line, and over one-third live in extreme poverty. Also, Bangladesh is currently considered to be a country that is at very high risk from HIV and AIDS, and yet there is a low prevalence. Bangladesh is also prone to flooding due to where it is positioned. Each year many are killed as a result of these floods and also millions of homes are destroyed. Most of the floods occur in the monsoon period between June and September; I will be in Bangladesh for some of this period.

Everything about the experience excites me and everything about the experience is going to be new. I have lived in Leeds all my life and I am very used to a westernised culture. I rarely find myself in situations where I can properly challenge myself and get stuck in. To be able to fully immerse myself in a new culture that is completely different to mine, where they speak a different language and have different ways of looking at the world is going to be amazing! I want to give something back and help people who are less fortunate. I am sure it will change me as a person. The opportunity is fantastic and I need your help to raise money, so that the organisation VSO can carry on doing what it is doing in the future. And give even more young people like me the opportunity to make a difference not just during the placement but also afterwards when we can use our new experiences in our own community’s back home.

I am planning to do the Yorkshire 3 peaks in March, I would love it if you would sponsor me for this event to help me fundraise...

 

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk is 24.5 miles, which takes in the summits of Pen-y-ghent (694 metres - 2,276 feet), Whernside (736 metres - 2,415 feet) and Ingleborough (723 metres  2,372 feet) all in one circular route. The walking is over a variety of terrains, and even though the paths have been improved immensely over recent years, certain sections can still be very boggy and energy sapping. The Expected time for walkers to complete the walk in is 12 Hours. However as I am planning on doing it in March where there is an average on 10 hours sunlight in the day. I will have to do the walk faster than the average.

Thank you very much

Becky Lether :D