At my last Lakeland jaunt in February, two of us agreed to celebrate one of our group's "special birthday milestone" by accompanying him up Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m, 19,341ft) via the Rongai route covering 45miles in the process.
Tickets are bought, plans are made and legs and lungs are as ready as they’ll ever be for the 7 day trek. We start on 30 September and hope to be atop by 5 October.
As a unique opportunity, it only seemed right to try and raise some money for charity as a result of our endeavours.
We have actually chosen 3 diverse charities; viz:
Village Education Project Kilimanjaro (VEPK) is dedicated to improving education and reducing rural poverty in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. It aims to give the most needy children in Tanzania a better start in life by providing books and materials and liaising with government officials at all levels. VEPK also run an educational computer/community centre with internet access and a vocational training school. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. VEPK’S mission is to enhance the quality of education, especially for village children, so that future generations become confident and responsible citizens. You can find out more about VEPK at http://www.kiliproject.org.
40% of all that is collected will go to VEPK;
Help the Hospices (http://www.helpthehospices.org.uk) is a charity for hospice care that supports hospices in the UK and across the world to ensure that people of all ages who are reaching the end of their lives and their families are given the most sensitive and expert care in a happy and supportive environment. A quarter of a million patients are cared for by hospices in the UK each year. I cannot even begin to describe my admiration for those involved in such a caring, selfless vocation and they deserve all the support and help we can give them.
40% of all that is collected will go to HtH;
Lakeland Trailhound Welfare - a favourite charity of Martin's. The sport of Hound Trailing is followed mainly in Cumbria, Scottish Borders and Yorkshire and involves training and racing Trail Hounds to chase an aniseed scent across the Cumbrian mountains. This is a very localised sport, kept alive by the local community. However, if hounds do not take to racing or when they reach retirement age (at about 6 years old), the Lakeland Trail Hound Welfare commits to re-homing these beautiful dogs to ensure they enjoy a new life elsewhere and avoid a premature end to their lives. This tiny charity is mainly supported by the local Trail Hound community and would benefit from even the smallest donations to cover transportation, food and, of course, expensive vet bills.
As they are so tiny, donations cannot be made via the Virgin Money Giving website so we will use the offline cash sponsorship to ensure that 20% of the overall total goes to this charity. You can find out more about the Trail Hound Welfare at http://www.trailhoundwelfare.org.uk you can find out more about Hound Trailing at http://www.houndtrailing.org.uk.
I really hope you will sponsor our trek and in doing so you will give us the extra boost we need to make sure our trip is not just a personal ambition realised but also well worth the effort for those who really need our support.
If anyone would kindly like to donate, they can do so online at our VirginMoneyGiving web page by clicking here
Many thanks