Eastbourne mum treks across Sahara with wives of veterans whose husbands have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder

Zoe Carroll, sport and public uniformed services tutor at East Sussex College, trekked across the Sahara to support veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Zoe returned to the UK earlier this month, after a challenging four days in the Sahara Desert, the hottest large land area in the world.

The mum-of-two trekked in 28 degrees heat and low humidity, over sand dunes that shifted underfoot.

Zoe was one of eight Band of Sisters chosen to go on the trip alongside 30 Help for Heroes fundraisers.

The Band of Sisters are wives and partners of veterans who have received help from Combat Stress, a small charity supporting veterans experiencing PTSD, and Help for Heroes.

Zoe said, “I entered a national draw, where I had to say why I wanted to go on the trek, and was one of the eight selected out of 200 Band of Sisters.”

The ladies started the experience back in October 2018 with a training and respite weekend.

She added, “The Sahara was chosen as the challenging conditions and environment were the nearest to Iraq and Afghanistan, meaning we were really able to visualise what our husbands went through during the time they served in the military, except we weren’t in full gear.

“We also had the help of native Berbers and their camels on our expedition.”

The hardest part of the trip was being away from her husband and two children, but Zoe wouldn’t have missed the experience for the world.