A Falmouth mother and daughter are to embark on a journey of a life time to raise money for disadvantaged older people in South Africa, through international older person’s charity the Abbeyfield Society.

The journey will take Lyn and Elly Orders, 47 and 15 respectively, from Cornwall to South Africa’s Robben Island where they will take on the gruelling African Centurion walk.

They will join four other colleagues from Abbeyfield to take on the 100 mile trek in just 24 hours. Robben Island is infamous for its prison, known as South Africa’s Alkatraz, and is where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in captivity.

Lyn and Elly hope to raise £4,000, all of which will go towards the the Abbeyfield Society’s efforts in South Africa. Although UK-based, the charity also has 20 houses and homes across Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban that help the most disadvantaged older people in the community.

Many are left with the legacy of apartheid and basic provision of pensions which has, in turn, led to a housing crisis where affordable and secure housing for senior citizens is a challenge that the government and NGOs alike are finding difficult to solve.

Lyn has worked for Abbeyfield for a decade and her daughter has been a volunteer with the society since she was just four-years-old.

The pair said: “We are so excited to be going on the Centurion Walk and the money will be going to such a worthwhile cause. Whilst it may seem like a daunting challenge, we’ve been training for a while now so hopefully 100 miles should seem like a breeze.”

The Centurion Walk is taking place on October 21. To sponsor Elly and Lyn go to gofundme.com/supporting-elderley-in-south-africa.