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St Michael’s CofE High School in Chorley is still hard at work raising money for their Zambia '24 Project. Having achieved and exceeded their incredible £60,000 fundraising goal, the pupils and staff will travel to Zambia to help build a new toilet block at Good Samaritan School, in conjunction with Mission Direct.

We’re delighted to see the impact our donation is making and greatly appreciate St Michael’s headteacher, Jayne Jenks, taking the time to write to us with an update on the projects progress – see the letter here!

School representative Eva Watson has also written another update for us on the efforts of students to raise money and her own challenge of hiking the Yorkshire Three Peaks!

Over the past few months St Michael’s CofE High School in Chorley have continued their fundraising efforts to support the Zambia ’24 Project. This has been done through sponsored dances, dress down days, sporting events and even a bungee jump!

These funds have been donated to Mission Direct, a Christian charity that runs short-term overseas volunteering trips, to specifically work on a Zambian community development project helping to build a toilet block and paint classrooms in a school in Lusaka.

Personally, I have also been fundraising by doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks. This was a challenging 24 mile hike with 1585m of ascent and taking over 12 hours. We set off at 8am and faced a steep first peak with poor visibility and steep drop offs, followed by a long walk with wind, rain and sleet at the top of the second peak. The sun then came out for the third peak and the final 6 mile walk back to the carpark. An exhausting but successful day as I raised £1,150 for the project.

Of the schools original target of £60,000 we have now raised £68,002 which is a fantastic effort and reflects everyones hard work and the generous donations from all our supporters and sponsors.

As part of the team who will be visiting Zambia this summer I have also been preparing for the trip by meeting the Mission Direct team over the half-term break and learning bible passages, songs and dances to share with the schools we visit. We have also planned some activities we can play with the primary aged children and packed lots of donations to take. I am also taking some of my own clothes to leave behind.

I am really looking forward to visiting the projects we are supporting and to sharing my experiences with you all when I return.