In October 2008  I will be walking up Mt Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, at 13,700 ft the highest mountain in North Africa.  I am doing this to raise money for Afrikids.  Afrikids is a Ghanaian children’s rights non governmental organisation 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 skills / 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 which will ensure the long term sustainability of the centre eg setting up an organic mango farm and a cashew nut plantation.  While Afrikids are committed to making this project happen, at the moment this project is relying solely on our funding and therefore the more we are able to raise, the quicker this work will be able to take place. 

The idea of a group of mainly middle-aged, affluent businesspeople from the rich North struggling up a mountain in order to provide long term help to young Ghanaian mothers setting up their own businesses 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!

Please do forward this page round to anyone you think will be interested in supporting me. 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.