This October, I will be joining a team from DLA Piper on our first UNICEF Global Challenge, with the aim of raising £185,000 collectively for UNICEF's child justice programmes. The Challenge is a week long trek across the Simien Mountains, including the summit of Mount Bwahit, which at 4450m is on of the highest mountains in Africa - a tiny bit higher than Ben Nevis, which sits at 1344m. For imperial fans, 4450m is just shy of 15,000 feet, and to put that in perspective oxygen starts getting pretty thin above 10,000 feet. The trek is undoubtedly going to be quite grueling - for those colleagues in London doing the Legal Walk in May, you can have a good laugh at my expense at the pack I'm training with.

So why are we doing this? DLA Piper has a partnership with UNICEF through which we are raising money and providing legal assistance for their Justice for Children Programme. This programme is working to better protect children across the world by ensuring they are not unlawfully incarcerated and have access to justice and legal assistance. With DLA Piper's support, UNICEF have been able to make a tremendous difference to the lives of children.

I have gone on a bit here, but this is a very worthy cause that is genuinely making a difference and is getting kids who have done nothing wrong out of indefinite incarceration in the adult prison system. So, the plea (and thank you for reading this far!) - any money you are able to spare to the Global Challenge will help to ensure children don’t have to go through harrowing experiences of unlawful imprisonment. All the participants on the Challenge are paying their own way, with flights subsidised by the firm, so every penny you donate will truly go straight to the programme. If you can spare some cash and encourage me to keep getting up early to climb hills at the weekend, please donate using the links above. Thanks very much!