After doing some voluntary work with some of Tanzania's orphans in Arusha I have decided to try and make a difference to some of their lives, giving them a chance of a happy and healthy future, something we all have and often take for granted here in the UK. 

After a 7 day trek and one of THE worst days of my life I finally completed it to the top of the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro. One piece of advice to you all...... Don't do it! I was convinced after the climb that Cheryl Cole and Fern Cotton photo shopped their picture at the top of the mountain but after some googling I discovered they had a full medical team with them and were given some kind of injections to get to the top (Cheats)! I don't blame them though; I would have happily accepted an injection of any sort! I was close to jumping of that god forsaken mountain! My amazing companion Claire who also made it to the top cried! ALOT! We both suffered from altitude sickness which is caused as a result of pressure on the brain! Not cool! On the final summit day we walked for 6 hours at the pace of a 100 year old grandma, using our sticks as a Zimmer frame (no exaggeration)! We set off at midnight meaning we'd only had an hour or two of sleep, it was pitch black and we were walking very slowly due to the fact we could hardly breathe, up a very steep mountain in freezing cold temperatures having to stop far too regularly due to severe diarrhoea because of the altitude sickness! Unravelling 5 layers and dropping your pants in those temperatures really isn't nice! To express the cold we endured, our camel packs of water were totally frozen! Sorry for the gory details about pooing up a mountain but this is a bid to get you all to dig deeper :) 

It wasn't just the actual trek I want you to consider though, there was the months of training including the Yorkshire 3 peaks (3 mountains, 25 miles, 12 hours). I wish to never step foot on a mountain again! I even donated all my gear and equipment to the workers on Kilimanjaro, partly out of the goodness of my heart but also as a valid excuse to never EVER do any form of mountaineering again!

As much as I've tried to express the length I've gone to gain your donations none of that is as important as the kids. What I went through in a few months is nothing compared to what these children go through every day. I had 3 meals a day and clean water along with medical care at home had anything of happened. These children are lucky to get one meal a day. Please bare this all in mind and donate generously so we can all really make a difference!!!!!!  (Plus you’ll get massive amounts of good karma if you do :))