Sam's Volunteer Expedition: Africa

Hello from rural SW England!  Our U.S. military family of six is in its second duty station year of three, after which I'll graduate from my international high school. 

The locals call Namibia, "The land God made in anger," where I will spend a month this summer volunteering to help struggling families.  My school team is 17 strong, and  will work to repair classrooms, and build playgrounds and mud huts in remote villages of Namibia and Zambia (north of South Africa). I am not a carpenter, so we will learn skills throughout the year from our Expedition Advisor on how to support a local community and keep ourselves safe during our expedition.

Our weeks spent in the Kutenhoas and Mwandi communities will be split by a visit to the Dune 45 in the Namib Desert  and a week-long expedition in Fish River Canyon and the Sesriem Canyon where we will pack all our food and supplies for the trek.

I have been training for this expedition by competing for the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award (an award given by Queen Elizabeth II's husband), which includes a 42 mile hike across the Black Mountains of Wales.  I know I'll be ready for the physical difficulties, but I'm a bit nervous about living in another culture for such a long time.  I'm excited for this amazing opportunity to help these developing communities and expanding my 17-year-old view of the world. Your support would mean the world to me! 

Project Namibia in its 20th year as a charity.  My team has already started fundraising to get the materials for our project and we will host auctions and educational events all year long.

This trip is this summer so I am working as a life guard at my school, babysitting, and mowing lawns when I am home on the weekends. Your financial support will go towards my travel fees and all the logistics support I'll need for the month. I hope to reach half-way to my fundraising goal my Christmas.   

Thanks for your support!