To a lot of people my age (16), Madagascar is a series of animated films. In reality, Madagascar is not only the 4th largest Island in the world, it is also one of the world's poorest countries, with over 70% of the population living below the poverty line.

We don't hear much about Madagascar in the press in the UK, but drought, famine, poverty, deforestation, cyclones, bubonic plague, economic and political instability are the realities that the average Malagasy lives with, not just the cute lemurs and spectacular chameleons that we see on nature programmes.

My late grandfather, Stuart Cassie, was a volunteer in Madagascar in the 1960's and was Treasurer of the Money for Madagascar Charity (www.moneyformadagascar.org) in his retirement, and my father, Alastair Cassie, volunteered out there during his gap year. So I'm proudly the 3rd generation to get involved - this money raising project is part of my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award.

Madagascar is 1000 miles long and it seemed like an appropriate target to match with my goal of raising £1000. With this sum the charity can provide and install a water well for a school in a rural community, raise more we can give the tools and seeds to plant fruit and vegetable gardens, the opportunities are endless. As part of my updates I'll be highlighting different projects that Money for Madagascar is involved in as well as my own progress and that of others participating.

So over the past few months I've been getting some miles from rowing, swimming, running, walking and moving 1000's of kilos a week in the gym, and I am now launching my campaign for sponsorship. 

- I have moved almost 200,000kg of weight over the past 12 months and collected many miles over various activities! 

How can you help ?

1/ Sponsor to achieve the £1000 target (e.g. 1p per mile is just £10!)

2 / Donate miles* - donate some personal miles (contact me with your personal target so that I can post it on this page) that you can achieve through walking / running / cycling swimming before 1/7/2018 and we'll get to our 1000 mile target quicker. Naturally, I'd strongly encourage you to contact your friends and family to sponsor YOU via this Just Giving page. Together we can reach more people and raise awareness of the plight of Madagascar and the invaluable work that Money for Madagascar charity does.

* If donating miles please keep a record of how you've achieved your miles, ideally with evidence from either a written log / fitbit / phoneapp

Thanks to the following for committing to donate personal miles (and their own network for raising sponsorship money!). This list will be regularly updated!

100 miles :  Alastair Cassie

100 miles : Margerite Giezen 

150 miles : Artim Banyte

150 miles :  Michael Barrett

200 miles : Susanna Menta

Thanks for your help, support (and money!) everyone!

Harry

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.