Raised: 120%
Target: £6,000.00
Raised so far: £7,175.00
Donate now

My story

 

I am now back home safe and sound, after an absolutely amazing two months in Africa. You will all be pleased to hear that I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro! It was the most physically and mentally challenging experience of my life, but Uhuru peak (5895m / 19,340 ft) was reached at 7:10am on the 1st August 2008. The summit climb commenced at midnight and I climbed 14km through the night to reach the very top - temperatures fell to -20°C...it was absolutely freezing! I wore 4 pairs of trousers, 8 t-shirts, a fleece, a massive jacket, 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of gloves and a wooly hat!

 

Apart from a really severe headache at one point, and the mad amounts of dust going up my nose, in my mouth and in my eyes...I was ok. There were people vomiting all over the place because of the altitude and some even had their own supply of oxygen. Unfortunately, a lot did have to turn back due to a combination of altitude sickness and general fatigue. Overall, Kili was completed in 5 days and I covered a total of 86km! I actually think the hardest thing for me was walking down from the very top - I only mentally prepared to reach Uhuru peak and forgot to consider walking all the way down again! One of the most astonishing things was to see the huge distance that I had covered during the night, in the daylight. My guide told me that there are two reasons why the summit climb is done at night:

 

  1. In order to see sunrise
  2. If people could actually see what they were walking, they would never make it!

 

So after walking those 14km back down, I was afforded a 2 hour break during which I felt the worst I have ever felt. As I had only managed to sleep 45 minutes before the climb, I had absolutely no energy left. But, after that little rest, there was then another 9km to cover until I reached the base where I spent the night. Starting at 6am the next morning, I walked down the rest of the mountain, which took about 7 or 8 hours.

 

The 4 nights on the mountain were spent in very small huts and the worst thing for me was drinking the most disgusting looking water! It was boiled and I put water treatment pills in it, so it was “clean”, but there were loads of bits in it: mud, little insects and G-d knows what else, but I still drunk it! Didn't really have a choice!

The money is going towards two really important causes, with 50% allocated to each one:

1. Providing adequate healthcare for children living in extremely poor communities in Uganda. This will play a huge part in preventing the spread of disease. Money raised will also play a vital role in preventative health programmes such as the immunisation of children and the provision of counselling, care or drugs for pregnant HIV-positive women in order to improve their health and that of their unborn children.

£2534 will help 125 patients get the medical treatment that they need.

2. Donations will enable community workers to help primary schools and communities in Tanzania to improve children’s health and to increase enrolment rates, attendance and performance. Health workers help to educate families about nutrition, as well as provide childcare assistance to expectant mothers. Food and nutrition programmes in schools provide children with snacks during break time. Also, teachers monitor children’s growth to make sure they are developing properly and refer any children who are severely malnourished to health centres for further help.

Approximately £10 will make sure one child at school gets a well-balanced, nutritious diet, which they would normally not get at home.

I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored so far and to those of you who haven't, this page will be open to receive donations for the next year!

Jordan

Donation by Daniel Dalah 15/11/08  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

well done coz - very proud of you! xx Donation by Mandy Sherwood 23/09/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Well done Jordan! xxxx Donation by Louise Black 17/08/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Well done mate. Very proud of you. Next time take a cab. Donation by Jonathan Hausmann 14/08/08  

£20.00

Seeeeeeeexxxxxxxyyyyy x Donation by Guv 10/08/08  

£15.00

Go Jordan! Donation by Lisa Abrahmsohn 11/08/08  

£125.00 + £35.26 Gift Aid

Nice one mate! got some mushroom soup for you on your return Donation by Michael Harris 08/08/08  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid

Well done,you did it in much quicker time than it took me to sponser you Donation by wiseman family 06/08/08  

£200.00 + £56.41 Gift Aid

Well done mate top work! Donation by Phil B 05/08/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

well done Donation by Dani Simons 04/08/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Jords, glad to hear you made it back safe, sorry it took me so long to donate, but I am really happy Donation by Ari Feinstein 04/08/08  

£10.00

Sounds incredibly hard but what an accomplishment. Congratulations. Donation by Ellen and Elliot 04/08/08  

£100.00

Donation by Josh Fineman 03/08/08  

£15.00

good luck & you will have the best feel good factor to remember Donation by juliana&mauricemann 02/08/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

No shut up and climb the bloody mountain Donation by Marci 01/08/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Well done! (I wouldn't dare say "no" to your mother) Donation by Charles Sonabend 01/08/08  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

wishing you all the best, look forward to seeing the pictures Jez Donation by Jeremy Rosenberg 31/07/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck and I hope you asked your mum before you left Donation by Nouman 31/07/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good luck Jord, enjoy it! Donation by Berti B 28/07/08  

£10.00

With very best wishes on the eve of your hike and hopes that all goes well and safely for you. Donation by Hamish & Vivienne Pringle 26/07/08  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Jordsy good luck! Donation by Paige Stern 25/07/08  

£10.00

Unbelievalbe initiative! I really think it's great! Good luck xx Donation by Sophie Katz 25/07/08  

£10.00

now you have 6020! :D Donation by Sarah Henry 25/07/08  

£20.00

Good luck Jordan, congrats on getting your £6000 Donation by Claire Fogel 25/07/08  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Hello Sexy! Good Luck Sexy Donation by Oli & Gabby 25/07/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck Jords. Enjoy every minute xx Donation by Lara Phillips 24/07/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

is it off piste all the way down Donation by graham 24/07/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

good luck :) Donation by sam 22/07/08  

£15.00

Looks easy! Donation by Loretta 22/07/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good luck xx Donation by Alexa Gostyn 22/07/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
Donate now
 
* Total raised online: £5,980.00
  Offline donations: £1,195.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £1,025.26

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