A typically male bravado text sent by me eighteen months ago to three friends, will culminate in us climbing Mt Kilimanjaro between 4-10 October 2012.

I am raising funds for the Dementia Services Development Trust (http://dementia.stir.ac.uk/trust) based at the University of Stirling, Scotland. Specifically, I am supporting a project within the Dementia Services Development Centre (http://dementia.stir.ac.uk/) which provides UK workshops aimed at promoting carers knowledge and skill as well as fostering community inclusion.

The climb is funded by myself so any money raised goes directly to the charity concerned and by chosing a specific project within the Dementia Services Development Centre I am maximising the effectiveness of your donations so that it goes directly to those in need.

What is Dementia ?

A set of symtoms which include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain diseases, the most common of which is Alzheimers, where the structure of the brain changes leading to the death of brain cells.

Loss of memory, mood changes, communication problems are just the start of a disease where the end game is far more severe with loss of indepedence, complete relationship breakdowns, loss of bodily function control and mobility being just some of the terrible long term consequences of this disease.

Those words describing the symptoms of Dementia are easy to say but in real life they translate into :

- Forgetting what someone just said to you, repeating the same question, getting lost in town...

- Being sad, withdrawn and angry...

- Difficulty in finding the right words, not being able to explain things, getting your words mixed up....

and that's just the sufferer never mind consequential challenges that friends, family or carers face both in the short and long term.

Why Am I Supportng Dementia And Why Carers ?

- There are over 800,000 sufferers of Dementia in the UK with sufferers mainly over 65, and the numbers are increasing every year. Many of us will already have a family member affected by this terrible disease, be it parent, grandparent, cousin and where we have been carers have faced the challenge without the support we perhaps needed.

- Dementia has touched our family with both our mothers being sufferers.

- Providing funds for the Dementia Services Development Centre allows the support team to share evidence based practice / expert information and practical coping mechanisms within local communities through workshops in conjunction with local support services.

We all get many requests for charitable support, all of which are deserving. I hope that my choice of the Dementia Services Development Centre touches a nerve and that you are able to donate generously

You can track my status on Kilimanjaro from 5 October onwards http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=206978283918460263179.00048088bb3d7fc8d89e1&msa=0&ll=-3.078038,37.356949&spn=0.05331,0.105743 and just click on the trek reference HSSH on the left hand side to give both where we are and the latest SMS message from us.

and send messages to me at http://www.teamkilimanjaro.com/blog/ and under browse listings type HSSH in the climber reference box to find us and then click on the 'view the listing' box.

Thanks for your support. Scott