As I haven't quite made it to the fundraising target I set for climbing Kilimanjaro last October I have decided to try & achieve my goal by giving all my 40th Birthday gifts to this very worthwhile charity.

Thank you for your donations. x

Please see below the my charity history below:-

After completing our first charity trek in Peru last year and with a lot of support raising over £5,000.00 for Diabetes UK and £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, we have once again signed up for another adventure........................climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in October 2010!!!

 After many weeks of deliberation we have decided to raise money for a local charity rather than a national one this time, due to feeling some of the smaller charities get overlooked when major disasters and appeals happen.

With Jonny being a Northampton boy, we have chosen the ‘Northampton General Hospital Charitable Fund’ which was established in 1994 to help deliver the highest standards of care to the patients and families who use the hospital.  With the help of the NGH Charitable Fund, we have identified a vital piece of equipment called a Resuscitaire that is required to help save the lives of many newborn babies born at the hospital who, when born need that little bit of extra support. 

 Babies admitted to the Neonatal unit receive intensive, high dependency and special care. Neonatal of ‘special care’ babies are often called miracle babies, and their lives frequently depend on advancements in modern medicine.

The Resuscitaire is a portable resuscitation purpose-built trolley, which contains vital oxygen and ventilation facilities along with suction and overhead heaters. These are used whenever a baby requires any form of immediate support following a delivery. Providing this medical support within the first few moments of the baby being born can have a significant impact on the long term condition of the baby, and dramatically reduces the mortality rate, also as it is mobile, can transport the baby to the special care baby unit or neonatal intensive care. 

The hospital need a Resuscitaire on each post-natal ward to allow effective resuscitation for any baby that may collapse in the early days, however the cost of each unit is £9,000.00!!!  THIS IS OUR TARGET!!!

 As with the Peru trek last year, we are paying all the costs of the trek, therefore your donation is destined for the charity, not towards a free holiday for us.

Please give generously or not - please just give!

Together we can all make a difference and hopefully help save these miracle babies along the way.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Jonny & Leah

 Just For Your Information

The Kilimanjaro Trek is a challenging trek at altitude climbing the highest freestanding mountain in the world which is also the highest mountain on the African continent at 5896m. We will be following the Machame route where the terrain changes from thick forest to moorland, a long and tiring climb over rock passing underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers then to scree, our average daily walk will be about 6 hours except for summit day.

We will be camping at Machame camp (3100m), Shira caves (3840m) Barranco Hut (3900m) following the mountaineering code of ‘walk high, sleep low’ to avoid altitude sickness by aiding our bodies acclimatization.

An early start on summit day means about a 5 hour climb over the arid and desolate scree reaching the crater rim at Stella Point before we continue for another hour or so to Uhuru Peak (5896m); Uhuru means freedom in Swahili. About a 5 hour descent will conclude summit day at Millenium Camp (3000m).

 Kilimanjaro Trek Itinerary

Days 1 & 2     Travelling from London to Moshi town

 

Day 3              Trek 5-7 hrs approx 18km, Machame Camp 3100m

 

Day 4              Trek 4-6 hrs approx 9km, Shira Plateau, Camp Shira Caves 3840m

 

Day 5              Trek 6-7 hrs approx 15km, Lava Tower/Western Breach, Camp Barranco Hut 3900m

 

Day 6              Trek 7-9 hrs approx 18km, Great Barranco/Heim Kersten glaciers, Camp Barafu 4600m

 

Day 7              Summit Day

 

                        Trek 10/12 hrs approx 20km, Uhuru Peak 5896m, Millenium Camp 3000m

 

Day 8              Trek 5 hrs approx 10km, down to rainforests to Mweka Gate, drive back to Moshi

 

Day 9              Free day in Moshi

 

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.