Borneo '25 Expedition Fundraiser

Hi my name is Luke,

I have been given an opportunity to go to Malaysian Borneo with my college, which as part of this trip I'm tasked with fundraising £3,500 to fund it. I have been inspired to go by explorers such as Simon Reeve who I saw at his show "To The Ends of The Earth" in October 2023, he stressed the need for us all to travel and experience our world's beauty as sustainably as possible.

I am an aspiring journalist and writer. I want to experience life a little further a field than the conventional approach, discovering somewhere completely foreign to me and learning what makes it tick is an opportunity I couldn't pass on. I hope to be able to document my travels either by writing about them or filming them. However I first need to get to Borneo before I can think about that and that's where I need your help.

Don't get me wrong, this will be a fantastic and exciting trip for me personally, however apart from my future ambitions there is a bit more to this.

The trip is a new approach to tourism known as "Eco-tourism", which seeks to leave as little impact as possible on the community, furthermore the expedition directly employs members of the local communities we'll visit, giving them secure and sustainable work, rather than having to turn to other methods which can include illegal logging, a major issue facing the entire island of Borneo and a contributing factor to climate change which has pushed many native animal species to the point of near extinction, including the world renowned and beloved Orangutans.

I would be located in the central Sabah region in Malaysian Borneo, I'd get to experience the abundance of biodiversity whilst learning about sustainable conservation. I would also be playing a part in environmental and community projects. Each expedition is aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals and designed to make a significant and lasting impact on the region’s most critical issues.

Waste management is a big problem for the small islands and the natural environment is suffering as a result. I'll be working with local Non-Government-Organisations on a recycling centre which gives local people a place to recycle plastic waste so it doesn’t end up on the beaches. I could also participate in constructing Eco-tourism stalls and structures to raise awareness of environmental issues.

If you are able to support me in any amount or by sharing and helping me achieve this goal, I would be immensely grateful.