| Consultant sets off on 48,000km trip across Africa |
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| | London consultant
Charlie Curtis, 26, left
on 2 March 2009 on a
48,000km overland trip
across Africa, during
which he and a friend
will build shelters for
HIV clinics and raise
money for UK charity One
to One Children's Fund.
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. Curtis
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
Curtis. "It's hard to
know how many shelters | |
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| | 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, he
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.
Curtis has been given
a sabbatical by
Capgemini and will
return to his job
following his work and
travels in Africa.
The two men 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 | |
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| | water tanks, roof tent,
all terrain tyres, a
refrigeration unit and a
water purification unit.
You can follow their
progress at
www.ontheedgeofafrica.co
m.
Curtis and Beswick
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 them, visit
www.justgiving.com/onthe
edge.
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.
Photo source:
www.one2onekids.org | |
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