In 2013, I joined five other women to trek the Tonkinese Alps in Vietnam to raise money for the JoLt 2014 trip. 23 youngsters and 8 helpers went to Zambia and Botswana in 2014 and had an experience of a lifetime. So we're off again to help fund the 2016 trip to Singapore, Indonesia and Northern Australia. We know that a JoLt trip changes lives. One youngster wrote after their trip, "I have matured and have a wider outlook on life. People in school have all said how confident and assertive I have become." This is typical of the wonderful letters we get - read more on the JoLt website.

We pay ourselves for all our travel costs and so every penny fundraised goes to JoLt. It's a small charity run entirely by volunteers. Why do we bother to do it? Well, we are undertaking our own journeys too, but we are more fortunate and can afford to do it. We all have our own reasons for wanting an experience as well as raising money.

I am also volunteering for the Gurkha Welfare Trust for a week while in Nepal. As you all know, Nepal was devastated by two earthquakes in 2015 and a lot more needs to be done to rebuild lives and infrastructure.