Ethan's Bike Ride to Kenya

Hi my name is Ethan and thank you for taking your time to visit my page and read my story.

Through my school and Camps International, I have been given an opportunity to travel to Kenya and volunteer for four weeks in the summer of 2021. 

As part of my trip I will be taking part in a number of local community and conservation projects. I will be visiting Muhaka which remains one of the poorest communities in the area where I will be working to help the local community to rebuild and repair their homes and schools which have deteriorated over time. I will be visiting Tsavo, a region which suffers from seasonal flooding, causing damage to buildings, leaving them a threat of collapse.  Here I will be working to build schools and medical facilities such as building a hospital or medical centre. Throughout my visit I could also be working on providing these local communities with clean drinking water and toilet facilities, all things we take for granted and which provide a safer and more sustainable community to the local residents.

As part of the conservation projects I will be working to improve the natural watering holes and planting trees in Tsavo National Park. Furthermore I will be making paper from Elephant dung for the local communities to sell to the tourists who visit the local National Park. These are all part of projects which promote a peaceful coexistence  for the local community, the wildlife which will protect some of Kenya's beautiful animals and their habitats.  Another project I will be involved with will impact the local farmers, I will be assisting a local vet to de-worm the local livestock although, this is not on the scale we are used to it will be making a more sustainable business for the regions local farming industry.

Its not all work, I will be given opportunities which also include snorkelling the Kenyan cost line, a trek on Mount Kasigau which rises from the Savannah and of curse no trip would be complete to Kenya without a Safari through the national park which I have taken part in sustaining its future but, one of the highlights I am most looking forward to is meeting the Massi Tribes, learning Swahili and being part and welcomed in these amazing local communities. 

An integral part of this trip and my personal development through this experience is raising the money myself. To fulfil this opportunity and one that I so very much want to be part of, I need to raise just under £4000.

To achieve this I have set myself a challenge to cycle the distance from where I live in Bournemouth, UK to Mombasa, Kenya this equals 6,822 miles; according to Google maps!  this is not as the crow flies or just Bournemouth to Kenya, this is the road route distance from my house to the furthest point which I will be visiting in Kenya.....and yes you read that right I will cycle almost seven thousand miles.

I will not only be doing this from my home on a turbo trainer through but also cycling to and from school and other out of school activities and taking part in cycle events for any keen cyclists out there you will know road cycling can be far more challenging. 

To put this into scale for you, I have sixteen months from now to my last payment deadline, taking into account holidays and any unforeseen illnesses this challenge realistically has 14 months or 60 weeks to complete. This equates to almost 23 miles a day for 5 days a week for the next 14 months but, if I can I would like to achieve this challenge in a year!!! and lets not forget I will still have to fit in my other commitments........and my SCHOOL work.  

So, where is my sponsorship money going?  41% will be delivering a quality expedition; such as flights; insurance; expedition co-coordinators; global operations teams and the professional expedition leaders. 21%  of my sponsorship will go toward the running of Camps international for example general office costs; systems and IT; administration, and finance and marketing. 38% Direct impact; such as sustainable development and building capacity; employment for over 100 local employees; economic opportunities for rural communities; improving living standards and welfare; protecting wildlife habitat; environmental conservation in bio-diverse regions; developing and implementing meaningful projects.

Please help me help the local communities of Kenya. Be part of my personal development and the humbling but positive impact this experience will have on my life.

Please take time to sponsor me - any amount is gratefully received.

Please Share my GoFundMe Page and Social Media pages

Share my story.......and keep sharing

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Ethan

My Social Media Sites where I will be tracking my progress:
https://www.facebook.com/ethan.bikeride.5 

https://www.instagram.com/ethanblan94/ 


More information about Camps International please visit;
http://campsinternational.com