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SOLCYCLE:UK to Australia by bike

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On August 1 2018, I plan to leave my front door in Leicester, UK and set off solo on the SOLCYCLE, to cycle from the UK to Australia over the course of a year to raise money for 3 hugely important charities.

Taking 12 months and spanning 25 countries, this is going to be an extreme challenge, physically, mentally and financially: I will have to stick to a tiny US$10 (£7.44) per day budget, wild-camping most of the way. On top of my final, exam year of A-Levels, I am working every single second I can spare to even raise this much.

I believe the trip is going to educate me about the world's cultures, organisms and ecosystems and learn a lot about myself- I will be documenting the trip on my NAT GEO LEO pages with photography on Instagram, key updates on the Facebook page and even regular short films on my YouTube channel as well as a full descriptive account on my return.

However, one of the most important aspects of the trip is to raise money for three amazing charities.

-Cool Earth: fighting deforestation.

Rainforests are one of the most valuable resources on the planet. These areas regulate climate locally and store carbon from warming the earth as well as providing livelihoods for indigenous communities and resources for everything from food and shelter to construction, clothes and medicine. Jungles cover only 6% of the planet's land surface and yet contain more than half of the world's terrestrial species. However, with 75 football pitches of precious ecosystem destroyed every minute, many of the estimated 5 million yet undiscovered species will lose their habitats and go extinct before we have even learnt of the potential solutions they could hold.
Extinction is forever; this is the only known life in the universe, bundled right here in little pockets which need to be protected.
Cool Earth puts the rainforest in the hands of local people to provide them with livelihoods, improving their quality of life without big corporations buying up the land for plantations, ranches, mines, houses or roads.


-Stand Against Racism & Inequality

In the 21st-century, multicultural society in which we live it is more important than ever to ensure that no groups are prejudiced against amidst growing division in the western world, intensified by aggressive media around issues such as terrorism and immigration.
SARI provides a platform to report hate crime and gives support and advice to victims of hate through direct casework to work through and tackle long-term issues in their communities. It also promotes equality and good relations between people through education in schools about hate crime and cultural awareness tours.

-Camfed: the Campaign for Female Education

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 28 million girls are out of school. Without money, access or even rights to an education: one of the most important of all human rights.
By investing in a girl's future, providing schools, paying for fees, uniforms and all associated costs, Camfed changes everything. 
Educated, she'll earn up to 25% more per year in secondary school, be 3 times less likely to become HIV-positive, having a longer and happier life, but will be more likely to marry later and have a smaller, healthier family. This, in turn, is one of the most effective and ethical ways of fighting climate change and deforestation. Growing populations are the leading cause of these issues through settlement expansion and growing demand for resources but through education, girls are more likely to develop themselves and then have a smaller, more sustainable family. In addition to this, educated girls typically invest 90% of their higher earnings into their families, providing their own children with a better quality of life and educating them and their communities- catalysing systemic change.

If you can support the SOLCYCLE and spare anything for these amazing and hugely important causes it would mean masses to me and, I feel, make a really significant positive difference in the world.

Every little helps!
-GoFundMe has a minimum transfer of £5 so if you want to contribute less than that you can send it directly through PayPal to [email redacted] :) 

See more on my website

www.benleohollis.com

CHECK IT OUT!:)

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  • Mimi HB
    • £5
    • 5 yrs
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Ben Leo Hollis
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