In early June, we will be flying to Kenya with a group of fellow mountaineers to climb Mount Kenya to raise money for Standing Voice (www.standingvoice.org) which focuses on improving the lives of people afflicted with albinism in Africa.

Formed 3 million years ago, Mt Kenya is an extinct volcano often referred to as the 'Place of Light'. At 16,355 ft tall, Mt Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and second highest in Africa.  We will be starting in the low jungle lushlands of Kenya and building up to the rocks, ice and snow at the peak. For five days, we will battle altitude sickness, freezing temperatures, and rough and unforgiving terrain. On the last day of ascent we will set off at 3am for a final 5-hour climb in darkness to arrive as dawn brakes on the summit. 

We hope to reach the summit on International Albinism Awareness Day, in celebration of the cause we're climbing for: the devastating plight of children with albinism in Africa. 

At the toughest moments on the mountain and particularly the night climb to the summit, we will focus our minds on the suffering of these people afflicted with albinism and try to imagine how hard their daily lives are in struggling with disability, abandonment and ostracisation. We will especially focus on the heartbreaking plight of those children abandoned by their own parents.

I really need your help in sponsoring me so that I can raise as much money as possible for Standing Voice.

Please note that 100% of whatever you choose to donate goes directly to the charity as we have personally paid our own costs in association with the climb itself.

Albinism and Standing Voice

Albinism is a genetic condition that reduces melanin pigment in the skin, eyes and hair. People with albinism are pale, vulnerable to sunburn, and visually impaired.

In parts of Africa, people with albinism are often seen as curses from God. Witchcraft potions containing their body parts are believed to bring wealth and fortune. Sex with a woman with albinism is said to cure AIDS. These beliefs have caused 202 people with albinism to be murdered, and another 350 to be attacked and mutilated, across Africa since 2006. 

Most victims have been children.

Those who escape this violence face enormous challenges in accessing healthcare, education, housing and employment. The majority live short and cruel lives, abused and hunted for the colour of their skin. 

Standing Voice is working to transform this situation. Empowering initiatives in health and education are now reaching more than 3,000 people with albinism in East Africa: preventing skin cancer, restoring sight, and spreading understanding - giving children brighter futures.  

The charity is currently focusing its work on:

--     Providing a network of life-saving skin cancer clinics to 3000 people with albinism across Tanzania; in locations where its clinics have run longest, the charity has already reduced skin cancer by 85% 

--     Delivering training initiatives to boost income security and economic stability for hundreds of people with albinism and their families  

--     Using community theatre to transform hearts and minds in hundreds of remote towns and villages across Tanzania where the murders have been most prevalent

--     Providing low vision care to 2000 people with albinism across Tanzania, helping visually impaired children read the blackboard and get a fair chance at education

--     Working at the global level with the United Nations and World Bank to reshape policy and put the plight of people with albinism at the top of the international human rights agenda

--     Building a brand new Children’s Centre to reintegrate and care for the most vulnerable victims of abuse

These are the issues, the cause and the charity for which I will climb Mt Kenya.

Please help us with your sponsorship so that we can raise as much as possible to help these children. This is a unique chance to make a big difference. 100% of your donation will go to this cause.

www.standingvoice.org