It's hard to imagine social distancing in an overcrowded refugee camp, or accessing healthcare in an city torn apart by conflict, or practising good hygiene while your nation's infrastructure is only just recovering from a natural disaster.

I'm fundraising for Tearfund so that people living in poverty and/or humanitarian crises will be better equipped to deal with the devastation of coronavirus. While we mustn't downplay the immense grief and damage in the UK, there are some underreported situations around the world where the virus could make unthinkable circumstances even worse. Indeed, even without the virus, serious crises and global injustices continue. By sponsoring me you will help Tearfund's work, including promoting hygiene practices, providing food for those in quarantine and building hand washing stations.

Many of you know I was finally gearing up for the "exciting" part of my gap year before lockdown came along. So, in a creative re-imagination of plans, I am instead embarking on a 6 week birthday extravaganza trip around the world, "visiting" 6 countries in which Tearfund is doing vital humanitarian work, and climbing the highest mountain from each country, all from my own staircase! I will begin on 25th May (a week after my birthday) with a 2,436m ascent in Mozambique and finish in early July with a 3,666m ascent in Yemen!

I will climb over 10,000m (45,000 upward steps), equivalent to >90 times up my staircase everyday for 6 weeks. My legs are very afraid so I'm very much counting on you to keep me accountable...

£18 funds 1 month of essentials like soap and disinfectant for 6 families and £82 will fund 3 months of health training and food support for 5 families!

Beyond raising funds, I hope to research and gain a better understanding about the variety and extent of challenges faced by communities and individuals around the world today, and I invite you all to join me on this learning journey as I share updates on my social media as well as writing a short letter which I will email out at the end of each week. [EDIT - a chunkier letter every couple of weeks...]

Each situation is unique and internally complex yet we have a die-hard habit of generalising our world into categories of "us and them". If, like me, you are someone who would be interested in using these 6 weeks to grow in understanding about some of the specific crises going on in our world, as well as hearing some personal reflections, I'd be grateful if you could send a quick "me please" to dcgpalmer@gmail.com so I have your email address somewhere I won't lose it (rather than msging me on fb/ ig etc).

I hope you will enjoy coming together with me on this learning journey as we engage our global perspective while raising funds for our worldwide neighbours. Thank you for your interest and your support!

-Dave xo