If you are reading this, you are already halfway to making a difference in a child's life!
On 10 February 2012 I am travelling to the Himallayas to trek to Mt Everest Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier and climb Kala Pattar.
Mt Everest is the world’s highest mountain standing at 8848 metres and I will be climbing to 5545 metres.
The trek should take roughly 13 days with 5-8 hours of trekking and climbing per day.
So you ask why the hell am I putting myself through 8 months of training for 13 days away from my family, pain, freezing conditions, and a hole in the ground to answer nature's call?
Well, this small British charity punches well above its weight and they deserve all the support they can get!
International Childcare Trust (ICT) is a fantastic small charity which makes a big difference to some of the poorest and hardest to reach children in Asia & Africa. Through its local grassroots partners, the projects they fund give deprived children and young people the essentials they need to build a life: shelter, healthcare, education, and skills training.
These are all basic needs that ‘us’ in the developed world take for granted. We enjoy:
- A roof over our head;
- 3 meals a day;
- Free health care courtesy of the National Health Service;
- Free education for children up to the age of 18 years.
Can you imagine your life without any of the above???
Well, MILLIONS of children and young people in Africa and Asia do not enjoy any of these luxuries.
ICT have low overheads which make the donations go a long way. For every £1 that is raised as much as 85 pence goes directly to the projects they undertake. In fact I am funding this trip myself so that the maximum amount of money reaches these children.
For those who don't know me well, I was born and grew up in Kenya spending the first 11 years of my life there. As such, Kenya and its people, have a very special place in my life. It is heartbreaking to see the plight of thousands of children who do not have access to the most basic health care and education. Kenya for example is facing a health crisis. The ever increasing population has placed a tremendous strain a health system already constrained from soaring rates of AIDS, TB, and Malaria. This means that the mortality rates remain high and continue to rise – particularly among children.
UNESCO reveal that 93 children in Kenya die daily of Malaria followed closely by HIV/AIDS. With adequate health care this figure could easily be halved.
Hundreds of thousands of children in Africa and India will not live to see their twenties due to ill health and if they are lucky enough to do so they will have done so without an education.
ICT through it's projects has begun making a difference, and with your support they will continue their remarkable work.
Please take a moment to go through the ICT website and learn more about their work around the world: http://www.ict-uk.org/
So please dig deep and make a difference in a child's life.
Note:
Donations are accepted from anywhere in the world via credit card. As donations can only be made in pounds sterling (£GBP) on the website, anyone donating from outside the UK just needs to bear in mind the exchange rate. For example, US donors wanting to donate $50 need to enter the equivalent amount in pounds sterling. A simple currency converter that can help: http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Donations can also be made by Paypal.
American Express cards are not accepted, but all other major debit and credit cards are.
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.
