A little bit about myself

My name is Matthew and I work for Enham Trust as their Income Generation Lead, which incorporates fundraising, events, business development and corporate volunteering. I have been working at Enham Trust for just over three years now and have been so inspired by the amazing disabled people that Enham Trust supports. Working here wanted me to give back to the charity, and the best way I thought fit was to push myself to the limits and take on a fundraising challenge myself.

Taking on the challenge

With all the different charity fundraising challenges that you can sign up to, I had to decide which one was the most challenging for me. Due to having a fear of spiders and almost anything that can fly, I decided it was a great idea to sign up for the Amazon Jungle Survivor Challenge in Brazil. The challenge was demanding as we trekked, canoed and caught our own food and I wanted to do something that I had no experience of doing before and taking myself out of my comfort zone.

Experiences in the jungle

Every day in the jungle was different, we learnt all the key skills needed for basic survival such as setting up camp with our hammocks, making shelter and learning how to deal with any creepy crawlies safely that we may encounter. I personally found the challenge to be more mentally tough due to being on alert at all times, rather than physically demanding. There was a group of 10 of us in total, all raising money for a variety of causes – this alone brought us all together and we worked so well as a team and all really supported each other.

I am lucky enough to have had some incredible experiences during my time in the Amazon, such as seeing amazing wildlife ranging from sloths (my favourite!), dolphins, turtles, spiders, snakes, bullet ants and monkeys! I also had an unforgettable experience where I got to hold a caiman which is a type of alligatorid crocodilian. We also explored both the Amazon River and the Black River where we had the chance to catch some piranhas and also to have a rewarding swim and wash after being sweaty in the humid jungle heat all day.

The best thing about the challenge though was the people we met along the way. We got to see first-hand how communities in the Amazon work and also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a tribe and to witness and understand their traditions and why they are so important for the sustainability of the Amazon Jungle.

Fundraising for Enham Trust

I am so grateful for everyone who donated and supported me throughout this journey, I have managed to fundraise just over £3,000 for Enham Trust which is incredible and will go directly towards our services that depend on donations. I managed to raise this amazing amount through hosting fundraising events such as a South American Extravaganza Night, Bake Off, sweepstakes and through the generosity of my family and friends via a JustGiving account. The Enham Trust fundraising pack was also crucial for helping me throughout my fundraising journey, and I would recommend everyone to have a read as it breaks fundraising down in simple and manageable steps.

This experience has definitely given me the ‘challenge bug’ and I am already looking at other ones that I may want to do in the future. I would recommend anyone to challenge themselves by raising money for charity whilst pushing themselves to the limit and due to working in the fundraising department at Enham Trust myself, I would love to support you on your journey.

Take a look at our challenge events

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