So, as I write this blog, I'm sat on the train home from an incredible training weekend with Skillshare International. Having spent two days learning about my upcoming placement in Lesotho, I only felt it would be fair for me to update my donors on what I'll be doing for ten weeks, and where the money is going.
As you may know, I'll begin my placement at the end of January, and will spend ten weeks in country on programmes specifically designed around HIV/AIDS and youth empowerment. Built into these programmes there are also clear goals in promoting gender equality and sustainable livelihoods, ultimately aiming to contribute to better qualities of life for the young people who take part. A key theme during the placement will also be crime prevention, and each team will be developing a project to engage young people with this.
When in country, each team will be working on one of two programmes: either with the Olympic Youth Ambassadors Programme (OYAP) or the Lesotho Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (LENEPHWHA). OYAP is organised by the Lesotho National Olympics Committee and aims to develop young people through sport, using sessions focusing on life skills and HIV and AIDS awareness. LENEPHWHA is a network of support groups for people loving with HIV and AIDS, and part of the work will be combatting the stigma of both within the country, again using sport as a basis to engage young people in educating around the myths of HIV and AIDS.
This weekend I also got to meet the incredible team I will be volunteering with. We'll be living with host families while in country, and experiencing Lesotho's culture at a direct level. The villages we'll be staying in could be incredibly remote, depending on which programme we are placed in. We'll also have limited access to technology, but I'll try and update my blog whenever possible, to keep all you guys who have donated to this incredible programme informed of the work that is actually happening on the ground.
Ultimately, this weekend has made me feel so glad to have taken that leap and take on the ICS programme. Skillshare International are a phenomenal charity, and the money you have (or maybe will?!) donate is going to fund some incredible initiatives. I'm so eager to get over to Lesotho now, and have three more weeks to hit my fundraising target, and only five weeks until I leave. This adventure has only just begun, and I'm excited to get stuck in!
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Living Below The Line: Endnote
This week has been incredibly hard. Living on £1 a day for 5 days has really opened my eyes to the importance of nutrition and healthy eating, primarily because it's hard to get food of any substance on such a budget.
As I mentioned in my last post, 57% of people in Lesotho live below the Extreme Poverty Line, which is estimated to be around £1 a day. I don't wish to compare my week on £5 to what they go through daily, so my experiences are solely relative to those living in Britain. Before this week, I've never been truly aware of how little nutrition you can get from cheap food. Cans of Sainsbury's Basics Meatballs and Beans and Sausages may be filling, but they don't make you feel good.
This week I've experienced the worst headaches I've ever had, while my eczema has flared up incredibly, which I put down to the lack of variation in my diet. Processed meat, rice and cuppa soups have filled my mealtimes, while my soul source of fruit has come from a tin of mandarins in syrup.
However, at the end of the day, I'm lucky enough to be able to go and start eating how I normally would again. Millions of people around the world aren't lucky enough to do that, and this experience has helped my understand the health problems that can occur just on a short-term basis. Long-term on such a narrow diet is unimaginable to me. One way of lifting people out of poverty is to provide them with the ability to aspire to achieve more.
Skillshare International are doing some incredible work out in Africa, and their projects work to ensure people have sustainable livelihoods, empowering young people to aspire to greatness and providing the right education to tackle HIV and AIDS. If you wish to donate to the charity to support the work they do, please click HERE and help make a massive contribution to tackling such inequality.
This week I've experienced the worst headaches I've ever had, while my eczema has flared up incredibly, which I put down to the lack of variation in my diet. Processed meat, rice and cuppa soups have filled my mealtimes, while my soul source of fruit has come from a tin of mandarins in syrup.
However, at the end of the day, I'm lucky enough to be able to go and start eating how I normally would again. Millions of people around the world aren't lucky enough to do that, and this experience has helped my understand the health problems that can occur just on a short-term basis. Long-term on such a narrow diet is unimaginable to me. One way of lifting people out of poverty is to provide them with the ability to aspire to achieve more.
Skillshare International are doing some incredible work out in Africa, and their projects work to ensure people have sustainable livelihoods, empowering young people to aspire to greatness and providing the right education to tackle HIV and AIDS. If you wish to donate to the charity to support the work they do, please click HERE and help make a massive contribution to tackling such inequality.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)