Whilst many have climbed Mt Kilimanjaro before me, it is no simple task. ‘Kili’ is 19341 ft high and many that attempt it do not make it. It is no ‘holiday’. I have put in many hours of work in the gym, hiking around the UK, at altitude in Canada and have also taken on a new diet. The training to date itself has been a major acheivement as I am not a naturally sporty person. So it seems that it is appropriate to use the challenge of trek to raise money for charity.

This is not a ‘please pay for my holiday’ beg. I’ve paid for everything myself and see it as an opportunity to help support some people that need it. As I’m going to Tanzania it seems appropriate raise money for a charity that helps local people.

WaterAid aim is to improve the lives of poor people in through the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education using technologies that are affordable, appropriate to local conditions and easy to maintain by the community themselves. This work is vital as without water and sanitation childhood ailments like diarrhoea are killers (worldwide 5000 children die a day from water-related diseases). Since 2000 the number of children dying before their fifth birthday has risen and more mothers are now dying while giving birth. Essential water and sanitation services are limited - with less than half of the population having access to a latrine.

You can read more about WaterAid on their website - www.wateraid.org

Thankyou for anything you can donate. If you wish to keep up to date with my training and trek progress as well as further details on my climb and the kit I’m using please see my blog – www.beargills.com

I'm doing the climb with two good friends, Andy Smith and Thomas Davis. Andy has also got a justgiving page set up : www.justgiving.com/andysmith777 for his charity, The village education project, Kilimanjaro.