Target exceeded

The pre-loved clothes sale on 16th September was a big success and raised over £1,000! The target was £750. Six additional, unexpected but very welcome guests arrived and left with bags of gorgeous clothes. The ‘fab six’ massively contributed to the fun and end result.

All funds raised have now been sent to Sri Lanka to support specific grassroots projects. Vulnerable women are being taught vocational and life skills which is helping them overcome the challenges of food scarcity in Sri Lanka. This amount is also offset against the £20,000 target which includes Stage 2 of my trek – more info on this below.

Women’s community groups learning to make and use organic fertilisers for their home growing to support their families

Stage 2 of trek – first leg

Stage 2 of my trek across Sri Lanka, Kandy to Trincomolee, is now planned and flights are almost booked for March 2023 and returning mid-April. 70% of my £20,000 target is now reached with every penny going to those who need it as soon as it’s donated. Gill is trekking with me again which I’m delighted about.

The first week of this trek will include a few days volunteering at the Women’s Development Centre (WDC) in Kandy, a mountain trek across central Sri Lanka and hiking through open grassy plains. We’ll visit an isolated Vedda community and stay with them for a night. This 4 day section will be guided by a Sri Lankan conservationist and bird expert who we met in the Sinharaja Rainforest earlier in the year on Stage 1. We’ll follow the basic planned route I researched and wrote about in earlier blogs – check them out here.

Current situation in Sri Lanka

In my last blog 3 months ago the political and economic situation in Sri Lanka was dire: the economy crashed which resulted in huge national unrest, staggeringly long fuel queues and national curfews. Today, whilst things there are still very challenging for many, there is a degree of political stability, the IMF has stepped in and is supporting with the petrol and diesel shortages and the FCDO has lifted their restrictions for tourists to travel there. As a result Sri Lanka’s much-needed tourism, which they rely so heavily on, is slowly being revived.

However, fuel is now heavily rationed, food prices have tripled and many poor families are having to manage on just one meal of rice and sambol a day. Malnutrition among children is high and very concerning especially in light of the continually rising cost of living. Continual support is therefore needed.

Next Fundraiser – hold the date

Hold the date 9th December 2022 5pm-9pm for a Seasonal Pre-loved clothes sale. If you’d like to donate any pre-loved clothes or help on the evening please get in touch. Or just come along, have fun, and buy!

Here’s a video of last month’s sale:

If you missed the last blog then here it is.

Further sponsorship – If you’d like to help those in need in Sri Lanka at this incredibly troubled time, whilst being assured that every penny will go to those who need it, then please donate by clicking on this link Marcia Summers is fundraising for Their Future Today (justgiving.com). Don’t forget that if you’re a tax payer to declare ‘gift aid’ when doing so which will increase your donation by 25% at no cost to you. Alternatively, if you know anyone or of an organisation that may have an interest in this cause please forward this blog and above link on to them.