Hi Folks,  I will try to keep this short and to the point. In a few weeks I am heading on an expedition to a region in the North East of Afghanistan called the Wakhan Corridor.  Yep, thats right, Afghanistan. It's not your standard 6 weeks away, but equally, this region is very untypical of the rest of the country.  For decades, this has been an area of relative peace in a country that has seen all manner of horrors. 

Though it is peaceful, it is also one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries on the planet. In 2002 one in three children died before  the age of 5, opium addiction is rife, and life is a constant battle with the elements. Thankfully, there are a few dedicated and quite incredible people who have based themselves in the area (the popluation, called the Wakhis, number about 10,000) to provide medical assistant, largely to children and women. But this area desperately needs assistance.  There is a real possibility that the area could attract decent numbers of people, but it will struggle unless people are willing to give it a hand.

A party of five of us are heading there to climb an unclimbed mountain, in an unexplored valley. We are taking medical kit and a small amount of climbing kit for the re emerging climbing scene there.  Anyone who has read A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (if you havn't , do, its frickin funny and a classic) will understand why the area has such a pull, but it is a bloody great big challenge and I figured if people are willing to pull out the fivers for someone to run 10km, they might be inclined to pass some towards our charity, The Aga Khan Foundation, that is providing assistant to the area

So please, dig deep....and read about the Wakhan and the Wakhi people. It will break all preconceptions and the photos are cracking.

Thanks and big love

Sam

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