A PUPIL is raising cash to take on the challenge of a lifetime.

Bethany Hopkin, from Lindley, is preparing for an expedition to the Amazon Basin – but first she has to raise thousands of pounds to get there.

The 16-year-old is hoping that a race night she is organising in Salendine Nook will help boost her fundraising effort.

The event takes place this Friday (March 22) at Huddersfield YMCA and is the first of a series of events enterprising Bethany has planned over the next year to reach her target.

A pupil at Crossley Heath School in Halifax, she is set to take on My World Challenge – Project Venezuela in July next year.

The challenge will see her travel to the Basin, the part of South America drained by the Amazon River.

She said: “It’s an exciting and partially scary challenge! I am one of a handful of students planning and preparing for the expedition.

“We will fly to Venezuela and collect supplies from the eastern city of Ciudad Bolivar. Then we will travel for three days along the Rio Caura in a canoe and trek for a day through the jungle to Amerindian villages.”

Once there the team will be working in schools in the villages. They will undertake conservation work in the National Parks as well as in the villages in the Andes.

Each team member must first raise over £4,000 to cover the cost of the trip.

Bethany is hoping that this Friday’s race night will go a long way towards making a dent in this figure.

The evening starts at 7.30pm and entry is free, although it costs £5 to buy a horse and name it. The New Hey Road-based YMCA and its Your Health Club have been a big help in supporting the event – and Huddersfield Bearings Ltd has already sponsored half of the races for the night.

Anyone wishing to buy a ticket or sponsor a race can contact Bethany on 07951 056554 or email her at clarehopkin@virginmedia.com