In October 2008 some friends and I will be walking up Mt Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains, which at 13,700 ft is the highest mountain in North Africa.  We are doing this to raise money for Afrikids.  Afrikids is a Ghanaian children's rights Non-Governmental Organisation completely committed to making a difference to the lives of vulnerable women and children by helping them sustainably rebuild their lives.  Their simple philosophy is: Listen to what the communities know they need, Empower them to make the difference themselves, Ensure absolute sustainability.

Our walk will specifically sponsor Operation Smiles which is a fantastic holistic programme targeting the real causes behind the out-migration of the rural communities in the northern region of Ghana.  Our fundraising target for Operation Smiles is £26,000 which will initially cover business skill/vocational training and micro-finance loans.  Our longer term aim is to support making the project sustainable including running the Nakuaabi Young Mothers' Centre, providing an electricity supply to the centre (through solar panels) and investing in projects that will ensure the long term sustainability of the centre eg setting up an organic mango farm and a cashew nut plantation.  While Afrikids is committed to making this project happen, at the moment Operation Smiles is relying solely on our funding and therefore the more we are able to raise, the quicker this critical work will be able to take place.

The idea of a bunch of mainly (but not exclusively!) middle-aged people from one of the richest and most complex economies in the world struggling up a mountain in order to provide long-term help to young Ghanaian mothers setting up their own business in one of the poorer economies in the world has a certain elegance about it.  I hope you will agree and feel inspired to donate!

I want to raise at least £2,000 and need all the help I can get.

Many thanks - your support means a lot to me personally.