Hello everyone,

In February 2016, Hanine and I together with twenty two other explorers, comprising in total nineteen from Gama Aviation plc plus five friends are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to try and change the lives of people living in part of Tanzania.        

We both have very minimal experience when it comes to hiking, however this is a challenge that we are very keen on overcoming!  But what better feeling is there than being able to make a difference in another human being’s life? 

In Kiomboi hospital in Tanzania, there is only enough water for one hour a day. The hospital handles approximately 8,000 births a year together with other medical operations for the region. Because of the lack of water, heavily pregnant women have to collect dirty water from the unclean river to bring to the hospital to use for the birth of their own child. After they have given birth, they then have to walk back to the river to wash. That is the same river water that many of them will drink, cook with, wash their newborn babies with.

Our biggest motivation to complete this incredible challenge lies in this charity cause we are climbing for- changing the birth stories of mothers and babies at Kiomboi Hospital only by providing proper water / sanitation– things that we take for granted in our daily lives. We have an impact, we are giving mothers a second chance to actually enjoy motherhood and raise the children they bore for nine months! No woman should be scared she got pregnant, no father should be expecting news that say his baby or wife didn’t make it due to life’s basic necessities (water cleanliness and sanitation). For us, Kilimanjaro is an experience that we want to live and grow from, a transitional phase that we know will make whatever seemed impossible in our lives – possible. Together, we want to live that very exciting adventure and make it to the top with the rest of the team members knowing that we are making a difference!                                  

The pictures below show the hospital, the appalling conditions in the operating theatre, and a heavily pregnant woman carrying her own water to use to give birth. Staff at the hospital do not have enough water to wash their hands between deliveries, or clean their tools with. Sheets cannot be washed properly, floors cannot be cleaned. All this dramatically increases the risk of sepsis, which is ripe in the area, an infection which for babies, can kill. The mortality rate and severe infection rate is high. 

By sponsoring the climb, you can help us and our fellow climbers to give this hospital a permanent, clean fresh water supply. You can help us to give women a safe environment to give birth in.

In a dedicated project for Gama Aviation's climb, together with WaterAid, we will be providing toilets, showers, baths, hand washing sinks, and hygiene education. We will provide the facilities such that midwives and doctors will be able to clean their hands, and their instruments and wash babies and the mothers in clean water. Women can wash, drink safe water, and give their babies the future that they must surely deserve.

As an added incentive, we are delighted that this project is part of WaterAid’s Deliver Life appeal, which has matched funding from the UK Government. This means that every £1 donated to WaterAid’s Deliver Life appeal between 10 November and 10 February will be doubled by the UK Government – meaning we can help twice as many mothers and babies stay safe and well.

Every donation you make will make a real difference.

Thank you.