Hi, 

Life is all about setting challenges and doing your
best to ensure that you are successful in achieving them. 

 In February 2016 myself and three close friends have
set a personal challenge to climb The Rongai route to the summit of Mount
Kilimanjaro. With its gentle gradient and sense of unspoilt wilderness, the
Rongai Route approaches Kilimanjaro from the north. We trek through farmlands,
forest and alpine moorlands as we approach the beautiful summit cone. The final
climb begins in darkness but our reward is an incomparable dawn vista over the
sweeping East African plains. 

Our other reason for attempting this once in a life
time challenge is to maximise the potential for raising funds for Demelza Hospice Care for Children.

Children's hospices support children and young people (0-19) who are not expected to reach adulthood and offer support to their families. 

Children's hospices can differ significantly from adult hospices in that many of the conditions children and young people are suffering from are degenerative in nature and progress over many years. 

This means that children's hospices have the opportunity to offer children, young people and families the chance to build memories as a family unit, undertake a range of activities that are age and needs specific that they may not ordinarily be able to access. 

A children's hospice may offer complex symptom control during periods of active treatment. In many cases there is no cure. In others, treatment has been tried but failed and the focus has transferred from active to palliative care. 

When a diagnosis is given, families often feel very isolated. Children's hospices provide the necessary short breaks and a range of specialist services benefiting the children and young people themselves and their wider family, which are simply not available elsewhere.

The target we are aiming to raise will provide a short break for four families in one of the family suites which is a great opportunity for the family to spend time together whilst receiving support with their child's care and not having to worry about juggling housework, work or childcare for brothers and sisters.  The fantastic facilities guarantee that everybody has fun whether splashing about in the pool, creating a picture in the art room or walking through the lovely gardens - let's not forget the cakes made by the kitchen volunteers too!  Demelza strive to make a home from home for children and families coping with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses; they want to add life to days when days cannot be added to life.

Any donation you can spare will greatly assist Demelza with their challenges.