Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,

In October 2008 I (and 24 other determined but unfit people) will be trekking (crawling) up Mount Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains,  Morocco,  the highest mountain in North Africa at 13,700 ft. The trek will take 3 days and we will spend 2 nights on the mountain under canvas, it will start quite warm but finish in snow. For those of you who know me well will smirk at the thought of me wearing the same clothes and being make-up free for the entire time; but it is all in support of a very good cause.

I  am doing this to raise money for Afrikids. Afrikids is a Ghanaian children's rights (non Government) organisation committed to making a difference to the lives of vulnerable women and children by helping them sustainably rebuild their lives.

My walk will specifically sponsor "Operation Smiles " which is a fantastic programme that will provide micro-finance loans and vocational training for rural communities, particularly single mothers.

Two immediate goals of the programme are to establish a mango and cashew nut farm.

Afrikids is committed to raise a total of £26,000 to fund this project entirely and half of the walking group are supporting this charity to help as much as we possibly can to achieve this ambition.

The other half of the group are walking in support of Macmillan. In total we want to raise £50,000 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the event sponsor (Alistair Turner)whom all of my fellow trekkers have all worked with over several years.

I hope you agree this is a very worthwhile charity and therefore inspired to donate; please forward this page to anyone else who you feel would be interested in supporting me. I want to raise at least £2000 and need lots of help. Many thanks, your support means a lot to me personally.

Donna