Gorebridge amateur photographer getting snappy for desert trek

An amateur photographer from Gorebridge is offering to take photos for local groups for a small donation so she can trek the Sahara Desert for a cause close to her heart.

Charlie Johnston (21) is runningthe Edinburgh Marathon in May 2019 and then Sahara in 2020 to raise funds for the Eve Appeal.

Charlie Johnston (21) will head to Africa in March 2020 to raise money for the Eve Appeal, a charity which fights geological cancers such as BRCA – a mutation which drastically increases the risk of cancer – which Charlie herself discovered she has last September.

She said: “It’s a breast cancer gene, so it stops your body killing the bad cells. I didn’t know anything about it. It was horrible, not a nice experience at all. But I’m kind of relieved I now know because I can prepare myself to deal with it.”

Charlie’s family has a history of cancer, with her dad Steven also having the BRCA gene, which gave her a 50/50 chance of also having it.

She now hopes to raise the £1,800 needed to go on the 32km Sahara trek for the Eve Appeal and hopes to raise much more with her camera.

She said: “As I am an amateur photographer I would love to be able to help out with any local events such as football matches, galas, fun days, church events etc, all for a donation in return. Any amount of donation would be helpful. Literally every penny counts!”

Pharmacy dispenser Charlie will also take part in a marathon this year and find other ways to raise money. She added: “The Eve Appeal is a smaller charity in London. It’s not a big one like Cancer Research UK. It’s the only charity that deals with genealogical cancers.”

If you would like Charlie to take photos for you, email - [email protected]. And, to donate to her appeal click here.