Tim Pare
Mount Kilimanjaro Orphanage Challenge
Fundraising for Tea Leaf Trust
Story
Sarah and I will be attempting to ascend Mount Killimanjaro this coming July ( 18th-24th). The trip will take eight days and will start at Sea Level, climbing to an altitude of 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) Whilst Kilimanjaro doesn’t have the highest elevation of any mountain in the world, it is the tallest freestanding mountain rise in the world. Possibly not so much of a challenge for Sarah as me, considering my adversion to anything remotely physical. It is worth mentioning at this point that the trip will be financed independently and if nothing else, my mother will ensure that 100% of the cash raised will go to the kids with no admin costs.
So why are we doing this? Around 35 reasons who live in the Rawattha Orphanage, 5 mile post Trincomalee , Sri Lanka. The 35 orphans range in age from five to 17. Numbers go up and ages go down as there is constant turnover. This orphanage is a shining example of what can be done to heal communities after bitter conflict - the kids come from all ethnic and religious backgrounds and are brought up as brothers and sisters in one loving fmaily. Some are victims of the Tsunami - others from the terrorist activity which raged around them a few miles away for over 25 years, and some whose special needs are just too much for struggling parents who cannot care for them. Their parents came from both sides of the fighting. The rest were found abandoned in nearby jungle. In an area of intense poverty and little employment parents struggling to feed hungry mouths abandon the less likely to survive safe in the knowledge the local community will take in any found. The money we raise will help construct a much needed kitchen, and educational block to teach IT skills, new trades and a library. If sponsors are ultra generous, we would like to consider building a half-way house, for those aged 16+ and work with another British charity, the Tea Leaf Trust so the older ones become proficient in English and may find employment as teachers themselves. We have also considered buying a solar cooker so they can make their own food and sell bakery products - with no running costs.Please give generously-it is for a very good cause and knowing that we’ve managed to raise some decent cash might just possibly make this ridiculous challenge worthwhile.
So why are we doing this? Around 35 reasons who live in the Rawattha Orphanage, 5 mile post Trincomalee , Sri Lanka. The 35 orphans range in age from five to 17. Numbers go up and ages go down as there is constant turnover. This orphanage is a shining example of what can be done to heal communities after bitter conflict - the kids come from all ethnic and religious backgrounds and are brought up as brothers and sisters in one loving fmaily. Some are victims of the Tsunami - others from the terrorist activity which raged around them a few miles away for over 25 years, and some whose special needs are just too much for struggling parents who cannot care for them. Their parents came from both sides of the fighting. The rest were found abandoned in nearby jungle. In an area of intense poverty and little employment parents struggling to feed hungry mouths abandon the less likely to survive safe in the knowledge the local community will take in any found. The money we raise will help construct a much needed kitchen, and educational block to teach IT skills, new trades and a library. If sponsors are ultra generous, we would like to consider building a half-way house, for those aged 16+ and work with another British charity, the Tea Leaf Trust so the older ones become proficient in English and may find employment as teachers themselves. We have also considered buying a solar cooker so they can make their own food and sell bakery products - with no running costs.Please give generously-it is for a very good cause and knowing that we’ve managed to raise some decent cash might just possibly make this ridiculous challenge worthwhile.
*100% of your donation goes straight to the children of the orphanage. We are hugely grateful to our partners the Tea Leaf Trust. The TLT has no UK running costs and have partnered with us to give their support free of charge, and indeed have made the first generous donation. They have sent the orphanage teaching plans to help with the children's English education and are a hugely worthy charity in their own right.
Lots of love
Justin and Sarah