Gemma Steele

I would like to nominate my niece Gemma Steele as a torchbearer for the 2012 Olympic games as I believe her to be the most determined, caring and down to earth young lady I know. She left her small community and island life on South Uist in the Western Isles when she was only seventeen years of age so as to spend six months volunteering in a Kenyan orphanage and teaching in a school for the slum children of Nakuru. While there, she decided to begin building an orphanage that would house 100 orphans. Since her return she has endured many physical challenges so as to continue raising funds to complete the orphanage. These include half marathons, the three peaks challenge, climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon mountains within twenty-four hours, aswell as many other functions. I have found her determination to provide a stable home for some of Kenya's most deprived children while at the same time studying for a health degree at University and striving to become a highland dancing teacher, as truly inspirational. As I write this she is preparing to return to her orphanage in Kenya for one month so as to ensure its completion. This, I am proud to say, I am sure she will achieve.