February 27th in Uncategorized by jason2009 .
Consultant sets off on 48,000km overland trip across Africa
One to One Children’s Fund works with over 100 health clinics in 21 African countries to help them find better ways of treating and raising awareness of HIV among children. Charlie will project manage the construction of waiting rooms for some of these clinics, preventing the spread of airborne diseases such as Tuberculosis, which HIV-infected children are particularly susceptible to. His travel partner, architect Jon Beswick, 27, will draw up the design for these shelters.
“I’m really keen to do something …
One to One Children’s Fund works with over 100 health clinics in 21 African countries to help them find better ways of treating and raising awareness of HIV among children. Charlie will project manage the construction of waiting rooms for some of these clinics, preventing the spread of airborne diseases such as Tuberculosis, which HIV-infected children are particularly susceptible to. His travel partner, architect Jon Beswick, 27, will draw up the design for these shelters.
“I’m really keen to do something to directly help children affected by HIV in Africa. I want to make an impact on the places I’m visiting, not just donate money,” said Charlie. “It’s hard to know how many shelters we will be able to build during the trip, as we haven’t been able to plan much from so far away. But we hope the shelters can be rolled out to at least 30 clinics over time.”
Until 20 February, Charlie was working as a strategy consultant for Capgemini. He also hopes to use his consultancy skills to help the network of clinics across the continent share knowledge about the best ways of treating and raising awareness of HIV/AIDS.
Charlie has been given a sabbatical by Capgemini and will return to his job following his work and travels in Africa.
Charlie and Jon plan to travel through 40 African countries. They will journey down the West Coast into South Africa in the first half and then travel back through Central and East Africa. The trip will be made in a Land Rover Defender 110, which has been modified to make it suitable for the trip. Modifications include long-range fuel and water tanks, roof tent, all terrain tyres, a refrigeration unit and a water purification unit. You can follow their progress at www.ontheedgeofafrica.com.
Charlie and Jon hope to raise £10,000 for their overland trip through individual sponsorship and by selling advertising space on the side of their Land Rover. The money they raise will pay for building materials and wages for local people to build the shelter, with extra funds going towards One to One Children’s Fund’s HIV work in Africa. To support Charlie and Jon, visit www.justgiving.com/ontheedge.
If you want to take on a challenge of your own, One to One Children’s Fund is currently looking for people to take part in a Kilimanjaro Summit Climb to raise vital funds for local projects. For more information visit www.one2onekids.org.
