Hello everyone,

Hopefully you all know at least a little about me but I'll give you a brief overview and a little insight as to why I signed up for this challenge.

I am a 3rd year Pharmacology student currently sitting my final exams. I have a passion for travelling. During my gap year before university, I travelled to Australia, Hong Kong, and Ghana. During my time in Ghana, I fell in love with Africa. I have never been to a place with so many incredibly kind, resourceful, and friendly people who have so little but strive to give so much. I volunteered in a police hospital for 2 months, where the hierarchy within the hospital went on the rank of police officer, not the medical qualifications. It was a life-changing experience to witness how death just seemed to be a day-to-day event, and I thoroughly respected and learned from the attitude of the locals which was "live for the day". The country was beautiful and I yearned to return.

Last summer I travelled to Uganda and again I fell in love. I visited the International Hospital in Kampala and I was hugely taken by one particular ward, called the Hope Ward. This ward is run by the charity I am collecting for on this page. They treat patients who are not able to pay for their treatment. These people are generally the poorest people in Kampala, or refugees from the troubles in North Uganda, Rwanda, or DR Congo. They have a specialist cancer centre and the oncologist told me "it is very hard to determine a patient's treatment by how much we had donated this month, as opposed to the treatment they need".  But they make do.

If you would like a little more information, their website is: http://suubitrust.org.uk/

I am also raising money for another charity called the Ameca Trust. Unfortunately I can only have one charity per page so my other just giving page is:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Emily2Kili

So these are the causes I have chosen to drag myself for 5 days up the largest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. I will experience every weather condition you could imagine if you walked up the side of the Earth, from the equator to the north pole. I will begin in tropical forests and I will finish on a glacier at the top. I will be spending 6 weeks in Tanzania, doing some volunteering with the Ameca Trust and then travelling around.

So if you think this is a worthwhile cause please donate whatever you can to this and my other charity.

Thank you so much for your support in helping me reach my target. WIthout you, I couldn't do this.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.