African Adventure

Below is my mission statement, I am currently looking for contacts in Egypt, Sudan. Djibouti and Somaliland to put together a support network of people or if anyone has experience in these countries that can offer any useful advice please don't hesitate to contact me all help is much appreciated and will go towards a very good cause.

Accomplished Explorer Christopher Stanfield Protected content embarking on his most profound adventure to date...Trekking overland and sea across the vast barren desert of north east Africa, from Port Sudan down through the Red Sea to Djibouti, across the immense Djibouti terrain descending into the rugged mass of Somaliland Chris will continue on foot to his final destination the Edna Adan's Maternity hospital. This world first is an extraordinary feat of endurance aiming to highlight the health of the people of Somaliland which is among the worst in Africa, with one of the highest Maternal and Infant Mortality rates in the world.

'A small axe can chop a big tree'

At the beginning of Protected content will arrive in Alexandria Egypt by ferry and trek south until arriving in port Sudan where he will hitch a boat down the Red sea as far as Djibouti, from there he will continue into Somaliland finishing at Edna Adan's Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, This extraordinary adventure will take approximately 4 months covering Protected content over some of the worlds most sparse and politically challenging terrain. Chris will be filming the journey in it's entirety with the goal to take this adventure to the masses via media. The documentary aims to show the diverse nature of each country, incorporating the lives and culture of the people, highlighting the impact their health care systems have on them. It will also encapsulate every emotion, every triumph and every difficulty encountered in their rawest forms. The expedition will have an underlining theme to provide an inspirational distraction from our modern lives and ultimately show that despite our worlds current problems throughout there is still so much hope to be had. And just like Edna Adan's hospital is an inspiring white light in Somaliland this expedition will be an inspiration to many round the globe.

'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'

In Protected content left England with a mission to explore the world, he had multiple different adventures till he found himself on an organic farm in south west France where he had a life changing encounter. He discovered Edna Adan's Maternity hospital in Somaliland and became determined to do what he could to support such a shining light in this conflict stricken part of the world. Chris embarked on walking the globally renowned Camino to Santiago, choosing to do so in his own way starting at his then location in south west France to the most western point in Spain and back covering just over Protected content . Adding a greater challenge Chris took on the companionship of a Donkey named Zizi to raise money for the hospital. Chris consumed himself with the task and spent the following two months training Zizi the wild donkey to being able to walk 30km along side him. Over these two months the two became inseparable and their bond grew stronger with each passing day, unfortunately just weeks before they were to set out on their adventure Zizi out of character broke out of his field one night and ate a branch of yew tree. This being highly poisonous triggered a heart attack in Zizi and he died in Christopher's arms that morning. For their bond to be broken was catastrophic for both the trip and Christopher but having already come so far he made the decision to continue his walk solo in memory of a good friend carrying his head collar as inspiration. The trek was done on next to no budget living out of a tent on not much more than a positive state of mind and in doing so he managed to raise a vast amount of money for the hospital. Since the walk Christopher has opened up new possibilities and discovered a sense of urgency driving him forwards to do what he can to make difference in a world that truly needs it.

Objectives

To show this part of the world in a way that's never been seen before.
Raise more awareness to Edna Adan's great work.
Raise £100,000 in order for Edna's hospital to continue to flourish.
By pushing himself to his mental and physical limits grab media attention round the globe.
Change stereotypical views of youth culture in modern society.
Bring recognition to Somaliland as being a country that his risen out of the ashes and now a role modal for the rest of Africa.

The Charity

Edna Adan was the first qualified Somali midwife and went onto being the World Health Organisation's regional nursing advisor until eventually selling up everything she had to build her very own maternity hospital in Somaliland. The mission of the Edna Adan Hospital is to help to improve the health of the local inhabitants, in particular the high rate of maternal and infant mortality. The facility is a non-profit making charity and a midwifery teaching hospital that is also undertaking the training of student nurses and Assistant Laboratory Technicians. She remains an activist and a pioneer in the struggle for the abolition of female circumcision and is President of the Organization for Victims of Torture.
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'Surely it is time for us to reciprocate this friendship and recognise the astonishing achievements of this courageous country.' Daily Mail - Ian Birrell Protected content