Gap Year Expedition With Raleigh International
My Name Is Jacob Morgan
Dear Wenvoe Residents; my name is Jacob Morgan. You may know me from the Wenvoe Arms where I have worked for the past few years or seen me around the village walking the dog. I’ve lived in Wenvoe for the past fifteen years, moving here at the age of three with my parents and younger sister ready to enjoy playgroup and later start school at Wenvoe Primary. Now I’m eighteen years old and have finished compulsory education. Whilst most of my peers are starting their further education at university, I have decided to take a gap year to hopefully gain some experience in order to help me decide on what career I would like to pursue.
One thing I’ve decided to take part in during this year is a 10-week expedition in Tanzania. I’m doing this with other young people aged 17-24 from all around the world through a charity called Raleigh International. They strive to create lasting change in areas of the world less fortunate than ours. The expedition will consist of three parts, ‘Community’, ‘Environment’, and ‘Adventure’. We spend about 3 weeks on each project, the first being community in which the main aim will be to improve the safety of water, as well as sanitation and hygiene knowledge for locals in Tanzania. We will work with local schools, educating the pupils on these topics and helping to build sanitation facilities for them; overall improving the health of the community. The second project is environment. During this project the focus will be in forest management. We will work collaboratively with the local farmers and workers to develop forest management plans and raise awareness on the importance of these forests and plants, aiming to create a more sustainable and healthier environment. The final part of the expedition is adventure, which will consist of trekking through the Morogoro region or Southern Highlands of Tanzania. We will pass through small communities and see wildlife such as Lions, Zebras and Elephants along the way. After a day of hiking we will set up camp and sleep under amazing night skies unaffected by light pollution. During this section of the expedition my leadership and teamworking skills will develop and improve, which is brilliant for any workplace I could potentially end up in.
As a part of the experience I will need to fundraise money to pay for my flights, accommodation, and food whilest out there, but also a little extra to donate to the charity, so that more of a difference can be made throughout all the areas in which Raleigh International offer voluntary work. It will allow more projects such as the one I am taking part in to continue, helping to create more positive change all around the world.
I have several ideas for fundraising. Firstly, I am going to climb Pen Y Fan a total of 5 times in one day as a sponsored event. I am looking to do this around the end of November, most probably on a Saturday or Sunday so that my family can come with me (therefore the 23rd/24th/30th Nov). I am looking to organise a raffle, quiz night or race night in the Wenvoe Arms as this would not only be a great fundraiser but also a fun and enjoyable night for the village and the locals who would attend. I aim to arrange one or two in the run up to Christmas. I will have a meeting with Jenny and Digby to see which night of the week they think is best
to hold these events and further details will be posted around the village or on the Wenvoe Arms twitter page. Finally I have set up a ‘Just Giving’ page on the internet – www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jacob-morgan where any donations can be made. Any help in fundraising for Raleigh International or for my expedition in Tanzania would be greatly appreciated.
I will keep you updated on progress and plan to write an article on my return to tell you all about my adventures and experiences. If you’d like to know more or share any ideas for fundraising with me pop into the pub!