Firstly, thanks for taking the time to click through.

2011 was not a good year. We lost 3 close friends to different illnesses and all of them way before their time. In their memory, I wanted to give a little back as a tiny payment for the huge amount of fun and great times Belinda, Keith and Colin have given me and countless others over many years.

I toyed with the idea of a medical charity, of which there are some great ones, but I chose Wateraid as it is truly at the grassroots of helping people to gain the most basic of human rights, that of health. Despite the personal sorrow of 2011 for us, we are all still blessed by having access to clean water and sanitation and, when we do get ill, the best of medical care. Hundreds of millions are not so lucky. 4,000 children will die today through dirty water and lack of access to basic sanitation. Water. Such a simple thing. We take it completely for granted, even here in the Middle East. We open a tap and good, clean, fresh, cool water pours out and plenty of it. Across the vast majority of the 3rd World finding water is a major factor in the daily chores. Often the choice is between children getting water for the family or attending school. Obvisouly water wins. If you have a minute to spare, please click on the video link to view a little of what Wateraid does in combatting this.

In order to put ourselves through some discomfort in asking you to donate money to Wateraid, I, with a good friend and colleague who many of you also know, Mr Ultan Kenny, will be walking up Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. The whole idea was Ultan's, so at least I have someone to blame! We set off on 18th February. The hike is 6 days long, will take us to the top at over 19,000 feet where the air has less than 50% of the level of oxygen at sea level. This plays fun with your body and makes strenous activity (like hiking!) challenging, to say the least. Have a look at this table to see the decline in oxygen levels: http://www.higherpeak.com/altitudechart.html

We hope to make it and I know that your support of Wateraid will help spurs Ultan and I on when the times get tough which we know they will.  

For those of you who may be concerned that your donation is helping part fund Richard and Ultan's "holiday", rest assured that the trip is already 100% paid for by us both and any money donated goes through justgiving.com to Wateraid through their website. 

The justgiving blurb, in case you still have any concerns:

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.

If you don't want to donate through the website, please feel free to let Ultan or myself know and we can collect the donation and submit it directly to Wateraid.

So please dig deep and donate whatever you can spare, however large or small! It all counts and I hope Colin, Keith and Belinda would approve. Thank you again, Richard and Ultan