Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On Friday 17th September 2021, I'm riding my motorbike (BMW R1200GS) from Windsor, UK to Azeitão, Portugal, with my mate John Warner (Moto Guzzi Stevio 1200) over a couple of full days to raise money for the Sightsavers charity in order to help eliminate trachoma around the world. It has been eradicated in Ghana in 2021, proving that this (once common disease in the UK in victorian times) can also be eradicated everywhere with your help.

Just a penny a mile will raise £13.76. If you can't donate, find out more about trachoma anyway, here below. Maybe one day you'll be able to help.

Trachoma starts off as a bacterial infection that’s a bit like conjunctivitis, and can be easily treated.

But if it’s not, over time it causes scarring to the eyelid that pulls the eyelashes inward, so with every blink they scrape against the eye. This advanced form of trachoma is called trichiasis, and the pain can be so intense that many people resort to pulling out their eyelashes to reduce the agony of blinking. Over time, if it’s not treated, trichiasis can lead to blindness.

What causes trachoma?

The disease thrives where there are water shortages, poor sanitation and infestations of flies. It’s caused by repeated infection with bacteria known as ‘chlamydia trachomatis’, and it spreads through contact with infected flies and via hands, clothes or bedding that have been in contact with an infected person.

The agony and disability of blinding trachoma can lead to a cycle of poverty, limiting many people’s access to health services, education and employment.

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