Story
In September my Dad and I are attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing peak in the world) to raise money for both the British Heart Foundation and the homeless charity, Crisis.
Kilimanjaro is nearly 6000m and it’s going to take us 9 days! There’s about half as much oxygen at that altitude as there is at sea level! Altitude sickness is a huge problem; over 75% of climbers suffer symptoms (headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, lack of sleep). No matter how much training you do, there’s no predicating how altitude will affect you, meaning that aside from the climbing alone it poses a great challenge to us.
Why have we chosen BHF and Crisis?
Firstly, I never got to meet any of my grandparents and the family history on both sides of the family of heart issues and strokes is pretty bad. I’m now older than my Dad was when he lost his mum because of issues related to this and it is what killed all of my grandparents so it is in their memory that we are doing this.
British heart foundation is a charity that funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, so is a charity that is very important to us and to many as these issues affect so many.
Recently, a few close family friends of ours had a heart attacks/strokes, and although both made it through, it reminds us how out of the blue these things can happen and to never take anything for granted. That is why it is so important to me and my dad to do this as you never know what is around the corner or who things could happen to.
We also wish to raise money for Crisis. My parents have long supported Crisis and volunteered at Christmas since before I was born. My Dad has been volunteering every year for 25 years. I also volunteered last Christmas being the first year I was old enough to do so and plan to continue to in future. Crisis works to support homelessness in the UK and having heard stories from my time volunteering it is important to be able to give back to those less fortunate.
If you are able to, please donate to support our fundraising for the British Heart foundation and Crisis. Every penny will go to these charities. We would be very appreciative, any donation helps.