Story
Dear ALL firstly a BIG Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.
The CAUSE…
"Educating For A Brighter Tomorrow"
The words of 's creator, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, resonate with hope but also despair. It has been nearly sixty years since Jinnah's dream of was fulfilled, and yet equal access to education has still not been achieved. Pakistan is poor, its homeless children living in slums still have little chance to change their lives.
In terms of priorities, teaching the basics of literacy will always come a poor second to feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and healing the sick but equally many believe that the lack of literacy is the root cause of poverty, therefore a big part of the solution to problems in the developing world lies in education. Hungry people need to be fed, but also need to be able to earn their own living. As a wise man from China once said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. " [Confucius, K'ung Fu-tse ]These words have reverberated throughout my life since I first came across them as has the plight of these children since I first realized the full extent of their dire predicament. I believe Free basic Education is the Right of the many, NOT of the privileged few, this is why I have committed to this trek to raise money & awareness for FTCF & more importantly for the plight of these devastatingly underprivileged children.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) entreated us to "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave" & also instructed us that "The attainment of knowledge is a must ." Lets help these children live by these words. It will be one of the actions for which we will receive reward long after we have passed away. FTCF estimates that it can provide education for a one child from primary school through to secondary school at a cost of £800 per child, is this not the most wonderful gift we can give a child, a brighter tomorrow. SPONSOR ME, HELP THEM, HELP CHANGE THEIR LIVES, HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE, HELP MAKE ILLITERACY HISTORY. The TREK… Mount Kilimanjaro, “The Roof ofAfrica”, is the highest mountain on the continent. We will follow the beautiful Machame route, approaching Kilimanjaro from the south, through rainforest, moorland and scree, climbing to its snow-capped summit at 5896m. DAY1 – 16 OCT: DEPARTURE We depart on our over-night flight to Kilimanjaro. DAY 2 – 17 OCT: MOSHI We arrive intoKilimanjaroInternationalAirport and transferred to our hotel in Moshi. DAY 3 – 18 OCT: MACHAME CAMP 3000M 5-6HRS TREKKING. We start by walking through vegetation of the humid rainforest. DAY 4 – 19 OCT: SHIRA CAMP 3840M 6-7HRS TREKKING This morning our route takes us through ever changing scenery as we make the steep ascent up through heather and moor land to the Shira plateau. We continue across the plateau to our camp. DAY 5 – 20 OCT: BARRANCO CAMP 3950M 6-7HRS TREKKING Today we trek east across the barren moon-like landscape, around the craters that scar the earth. We trek in the shadow of mighty Kibo until reaching theLavaTowerwhere we stop for some lunch. We then descend through the surrounding ravines until we reach our camp late in the afternoon. DAY 6 – 21 OCT: BARAFU CAMP 4600M 6-7HRS TREKKING We leave camp early for a short climb and scramble over volcanic rock up the Barranco wall and for the rest of the day we make the steady climb to reach our camp positioned on a ridge overlooking the south east valley. DAY 7 – 22 OCT: SUMMIT DAY 5896M 12HRS TREKKING And so to our summit day and biggest challenge yet. We awake just after midnight and by torch light climb the steepest and most demanding part of the route for about 6 hours to reach Stella point at the crater rim. Continuing we make our final traverse toUhuruPeak, the highest point on the African continent, at 5896m. Here we are on top of the world, with the morning sunlight giving us spectacular views across the plains below and ofMountMeruin the distance. We then make our tough decent to Barafu Camp, where we stop for a rest and some breakfast before continuing on to Mweka camp. DAY 8 – 23 OCT: ARUSHA 3-4HRS TREKKING After breakfast we continue our descent back through the rainforest to Mweka. A short transfer by bus takes us to Arusha having completed our journey to the Roof of Africa & hopefully having raised lots of money for the underprivileged children of Pakistan. DAY 9 – 24 OCT: RELAX IN ARUSHA Today we are free to relax or for those who have the energy, explore the area of Arusha. In the evening we make our way to Kilimanjaro airport and board our overnight flight back to the . DAY 10 – 25 OCT: ARRIVE HOME This is spectacularly challenging, more so for someone like me who use to drive to the local shops, (the training is intense;-0) but I think & hope you will agree that the cause for which I am undertaking the challenge is equally as spectacularly rewarding.The CHARITY…
The Friends of the Citizens Foundation (FTCF), works tirelessly to give underprivileged children the chance to take their destiny into their own hands through education and the doors it can open. FTCF is a UK charity committed to making education accessible to children in Pakistan . Without a school to go to, these children would otherwise be living a backstreet life open to the extreme elements of violence and crime. FTCF works with the Pakistan based charity, The Citizens Foundation (TCF), which isSouth Asia's largest not-for-profit organisation in the field of formal education.
Through its charity events, corporate sponsorship and individual donations, FTCF supports the building, staffing and running of primary and secondary schools across Pakistan in its most impoverished areas. However, the battle against illiteracy and poverty doesn’t stop there. TCF and FTCF are committed to a momentous target of educating 350,000 – 400,000 pupils by 2012. PLEASE HELP TCF & FTCF REACH THIS MILESTONE. HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. HELP MAKE ILLITERACY HISTORY. Please take time to watch the the 7 minute insight into the why TCF & FTCF came into being at the link below: http://www.thecitizensfoundation.org/archives/Untitled-1.htmDonating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Friends Of The Citizens Foundation gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.