From now until October I will be trading in my high heels for a much more sturdy pair of hiking boots, this change in footwear is due to the immense personal challenge I have taken on of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in October.  

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in the world.  Its peak, the highest point in Africa is 19340 ft.  

We will start the assent at 6100 ft, and will be trekking for periods averaging 8-9 hours a day over successive days in extreme temperatures (from 30 degrees to -20 degrees) over hilly and rigged terrain, all the while being at high altitude, on the summit day we will be on the go for 15-17 hours!

The key to succes will be in the training I do before I go and that is where your donations will really keep be motivated.

I hope to raise money for my two chosen charities - the main charity is Co-operation Ireland and all money donated on this page will go direct to them.

Cooperation Ireland works at grass roots level with all communities throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to consolidate and deliver the peace which has been achieved at political level.  It works with a range of groups from all communities with the aim of increasing understanding and respect between people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. 

Looking to the future, Cooperation Ireland plans to share its knowledge and experience by rolling out its model to other regions such as the Middle East and the Balkans where translating political peace into a wider social context is an issue.

I also hope to raise funds for a local Tanzanian charity, but currently this donation page can only allow for one charity (due to gift aid allocation) so I will be raising funds by other means for a great locally run organisation called The African Roots Foundation (Incorp Num: 60646)  www.africanrootsfoundation.org

 African Roots Foundation’s (ARF) mission is to improve the standard of living of small rural communities whilst protecting the natural environment through the creation of small scale, sustainable projects, an example of one is putting in water catchments to catch rain water, then filter it through sand dams and reed systems to produce fresh drinking water, which is currently not readily available. 

The projects are carried out by members of these communities, assisted by eco-volunteers and eco-tourism to the mutual benefit of both the communities involved as well as their visitors, delivering an active and sustainable contribution throughout Tanzania.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

There are so many causes I would love to support, but I think I have chosen well and ones that are not so well known but both offer the chance of a better quality of life to many people across the world.

Thank you very much in advance for your support.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.