Ellie Culshaw - Donating Hair and Tanzania Travel

UPDATE!

My hair has now been cut, 18 inches being sent to The Princess Trust! Take a look at the photos, any donation you can spare towards my Tanzania Expedition is greatly appreciated. Thank you

Hi, I'm Ellie Culshaw.

I have rather long hair, but not for much longer! Please read on...

I am super excited to be taking part in an expedition to Tanzania during the summer of 2025, I will be going with fellow students and teachers from my college and Camps International.

As you can imagine, covering the costs of a four-week expedition's travel, accommodation, food etc is not easy. I have been fundraising for this expedition by saving any cash I have from birthdays, Christmas etc, selling hand crocheted animals, helping run school discos, a stall at a fayre etc. The time has come to cut my long hair!

I have always been growing my hair with the intention of one day donating it to the Princess Trust which make wigs/hair pieces for children who have unfortunately lost their own hair. During the Easter Holidays I will be having my blonde locks snipped and sending them off. Who needs long hair getting in the way when working construction in the Tanzania heat anyway!

This expedition is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a real, physical difference to people in Tanzania, improving infrastructure of rural villages by building classrooms, constructing and refurbishing community buildings, installing water storage systems etc. We will also be working to make a positive impact on habitat protection, tackling deforestation and climate change. This will not only help the local Tanzanian people and wildlife but also be an amazing opportunity for me to gain worldly experience, broaden my horizons, gain knowledge and confidence.

It is not going to be a lazy holiday; it will be hard work! I will learn many new skills along the way such as cement mixing, brick laying, digging etc whilst building skills in leadership, communication, team building, independence and problem solving.

We will be experiencing the local culture by living and working alongside locals in villages, learning some Swahili, experiencing and making local food and even elephant dung paper! We will hopefully also get to visit the Marangu Waterfalls in Kilimanjaro National Park and take part in a big game safari. I can't wait to see the local wildlife big and small!

I am hoping that some family and friends may be able to spare some money towards funding my place on this incredible expedition, I would greatly appreciate anything you may be able to contribute. I have set the target for fundraising online as £1,000 (approximately a quarter of the initial expedition cost without kit, visa expenses etc). I know people don't have a lot to spare at the moment but any and every donation would be really appreciated.

Thank you!

Ellie