OPEN DAY - MARCH 2025! - FIND OUT MORE!
Our CEO Clare Roberts will be taking part in a 5 day challenge, trekking 94km in Cambodia to raise money for the EY Foundation from 03-11 November 2024!
The troop will be heading through varying terrains of valleys, hills and dense forests, whilst experiencing the tropical climate that Cambodia has to offer.
EY Foundation
EY Foundation is an independent charity committed to removing barriers to employment for young people from low-income backgrounds. They work directly with young people facing barriers to employment, and with employers and social entrepreneurs in the UK, to create and support routes into education, employment and enterprise.
Young people on free school meals are growing up in households with an average income of less than £16,000. They use this as a means of qualification for their support, as it is data held by schools, and linked to poorer outcomes in education, and earning potential later in life. Their programmes tackle some of the major obstacles to social mobility in the UK.
Last year I committed to do Trek Patra for the EY Foundation and unfortunately because of the unrest in Palestine and Israel, it got cancelled several weeks before we went. I’d committed to the charity and raising money and I know how important that is for charities, who rely on the support, even moreso post-Covid.
The EY Foundation came up with another option in terms of trek and I felt that because of my commitment last year, it was really important for me to do it and support the cause. I’ve been to Thailand twice, but I’ve never been to Cambodia, so it was a part of the world that seemed very interesting to me. However it was more that I’ve been a judge for the EY Foundation for some of their projects and sponsorships that they were doing for young people, so I’ve seen firsthand what the foundation does to support young people and to raise their resilience, their work skills, and to give them sort of a focus into life, post-school.
Part of the reason I’m doing it is because I know I’m in quite a privileged position and I feel it’s important to give back. I think there are things that throughout your life become important to you. I’ve done lots of things for children over the years, with Kids Planet, but I think as my children are getting older and older I’m recognising more that there’s a real gap for young people in society. I think anything that can be done to support groups of people who are more disadvantaged and give them equal opportunities is vital.
So I have a daughter who’s now the age that the foundation is geared at; it’s targeting 16 to 19-year-olds. She’s been fortunate in terms of how we’ve been able to support her as parents, and her schools supported her on the journey through things, and not everyone has that.
I think what the EY Foundation does is it helps young people to find a passion and focus on something that they want to do, which gives them skills that can help them for the workplace, as well as the resilience and confidence that lots of us take for granted and not everyone has when they come out of school.
I’ve been working on the premise that my running is my preparation. It’s almost 100 kilometres that we will actually walk in the five days, and I haven’t technically put on my walking boots in about four months, but I run at least 30 kilometres a week and have done for the past 15 months. I’m hoping I have a level of fitness from the running, and that if I can run it, I can walk it – because it’s slower and it will often be at a much more balanced pace. I’m definitely going to put my walking boots on in October and check they’re not falling apart.
I look forward to the challenge. We will be camping in solo tents and I will be mostly off-grid for the whole time. This is the kind of trip where your out-of-office is on and you stick to it, whereas I never really put my out-of-office on normally. If people need me in an emergency, they can message me and I’ll read a message, but I won’t be going through the hundreds of emails that land in my inbox and thinking that I need to respond. I am excited to get my walking boots on, and be a part of an amazing team raising money for what is a brilliant charity.
Lots of people taking part have been asking questions, whereas I tend to put things out of my head until I’m actually there facing it. Someone asked about snakes, scorpions and spiders and I’m trying to not really think about that at this very time, because the answer was that we’ll see all three!
I think I’m probably more prepared in the fact that I’ve done a challenge like this before with Kilimanjaro in 2022, so I sort of know what it’s like, but it will be different to trekking Kilimanjaro because this is it’s relatively flat. However, it will be hot and so actually I probably need to look closely at the kit list because whereas in the past I’ve been expecting it to be freezing at night and you’ve had to pack loads of coats and layers, this time it won’t be like that at all. If anything, it’s going to be up to 34 degrees during the day and probably quite warm at night, so it will be even more important to stay hydrated in the heat and walking. With Kilimanjaro, it was more about the acclimatisation with the height.
We’re camping for a week in the jungle and I know obviously having climbed Lanjaron camp for a week that it is quite tough because you don’t have toilet facilities, you don’t have washing facilities and you sort of just get through it.
Footwear, and the right kit to wear full stop. I need to read the kit list thoroughly to make sure that I’ve really got all the right stuff. When I trekked Kilimanjaro, a friend of mine I was walking with was great at reminding me what to take and what we needed, and would tell me to put my walking boots on and walk the dog – this time I am relying more on myself!
Another thing is power banks, to make sure your watch is working to plan your route, your phone can turn on when you need it, your head torch works and so on. You need power banks, otherwise everything stops working very quickly.
One of my friends doing the trek is a doctor, so she has assured me that she has full medical care, including antibiotics and anything that we need along the way, so I’m relying on her to sort me out in that department!
Every penny raised could give a young person a place on an EY Foundation employability programme, and a chance to change their future.
Every donation you make will have an impact:
Please if you can, donate using the following link to my Just Giving page EY Foundation: Angkor Wat Cambodia- EY Foundation trek 2024 (enthuse.com)
Clare is truly grateful for all your support, lets help to positively impact the lives of as many young people as possible.
Good luck Clare!
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