My name is Freya and I am 13. In March 2023, I completed a week long challenge with my mum, Sarah, to walk to and from school every day. This totalled around 100km. It was wet and muddy but extremely rewarding. I wanted to raise awareness for some children in rural Kenya, who have to walk extreme distances just to get to school. African Promise is a brilliant charity who try to ensure that this long walk is worthwhile. I raised £5000 and was made a Junior Ambassador.

During the challenge, I was lucky. I had many people supporting me, as well as good snacks to get me through. However, what struck me the most was that without fresh drinking water, I would have found a 20k daily walk almost impossible.

This is the reality many children in Kenya face, and has inspired my new water-themed challenge, the “February Freeze”. Every day of the month, I am going to completely submerge my body in a freshwater plunge tank. Due to the time of year, I am preparing myself for extreme cold. Any money I raise will be used by African Promise to improve their rainwater harvesting and water supply to their partnership schools in rural Kenya. I hope this will mean more children will have access to clean drinking water, especially after their long walk.

Thank you for your support ❤️ 🇰🇪