My Birthday Presents…

My Birthday Presents…

On the 21st of October I will be 29 and I hope my birthday presents the opportunity to help raise awareness for the cause I am cycling for. I am not a fan of the video montage of starving children to pull at heart strings followed by Davina MacCall’s and Bono’s of the world preaching to us all about the plights of the third world and of our need to peel ourselves from our selfish worlds for one act of random generosity, but my priviledged life has been at the mercy of random, kind strangers for the last 4 months and this is my opportunity to offer something back…

I have been welcomed into a house in Serbia where they turned on the electricity so they could offer me a warm shower, I have been cooked breakfast by people living in mud huts with barely anything to offer and people walking home from buying their shopping have offered me things that I doubt they could spare to give away. With a budget of only 10 Euro’s a day, I am still wealthier than most of the people I pass every day, the people who give to me. These people live in Europe. My experiences have put into perspective the fact that at home I considered myself broke when I would struggle to afford a night out or buy some new jeans…

Donating to the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre gives abused or neglected children from my home in England the opportunity for a week of positive experiences to reflect on and help them through daily life. They are given the things that I have realised to be so important to me over the last 4 months, a good meal, clean clothes, love, support, encouragement, opportunity and friends.

I know the ball-ache of spending time to give your money away and I am no stranger to procrastination, but please can I set the date of my birthday to take 5 minutes to click on the JustGiving link on my website and donate the price of a couple of pints that maybe we would share if I was at home. This does not excuse those who read this after my birthday, get on with it! Consider it an investment in better blogging…

Rant over, now click on the link. Thanks!

Leigh




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