On June 18th 2010 I will be doing a 7 day 6 night trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. I will be taking the Machame route up the South-West of the mountain which involves leaving from the Machame gate, through the rain forest and up on to the mountain. It is the easiest route available which has been chosen to give us a better chance to acclimatise which in turn gives us a better chance of reaching the summit.

 

Although this is the easiest route its by no means a stroll in the park (Kilimanjaro is the worlds highest free standing mountain). Only 80% of people who attempt it actually make the summit and acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a very real possibility. Therefore I will be putting in a lot of hard work and training over the next 7 months to give me every chance of experiencing 'the roof of Africa.'

 

So why am I doing this? I was given the idea by a close friend of mine who is also doing the trek. We wanted to do something different and rewarding whilst raising as much money as possible for charity.

 

This is where Comrades of Children Overseas (COCO) comes in. They are a charity who regularly organise treks to help raise money for their projects. It was originally formed in 2000 by former olympic athlete (and Sunderland Fan!!) Steve Cram. COCO aims to improve the lives of children living in poverty in the developing world through the provision of health and education initiatives. They currently have projects in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania.

 

COCO have arranged a charity trek to Kilimanjaro in June 2010, I along with 20 others will attempt to raise money and highlight the charities work by attempting to summit the mountain. To achieve this I need to raise a minimum of £2500. This is obviously a large amount of money, however the lives that will be improved and changed cannot be measured. I will be doing various events and sponsorship idea's to help me raise my target but every contribution will help me achieve the required amount so please dig deep and give as little or as much as you feel you can afford to help.

 

In the meantime if you wish to find out more about COCO then log on to http://www.coco.org.uk/