West London “Junglees” takes up a challenge

Shahira Kara is raising money for FOCUS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE EUROPE

Participants: Najma Hirani, Irfan Haji, Shahira Kara & Zaheer Hirani

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Focus Humanitarian Assistance Hike4Life Winter 2009 Uganda · 3 January 2010 ·

Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) is established in Europe, North America and South and Central Asia. It provides emergency humanitarian relief, principally in the developing world and has over a decade's expertise in fostering disaster-resilient communities and disaster risk management. FOCUS is an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

Story

Najma Hirani, Irfan Haji, Shahira Kara, and Zaheer Hirani, local west London citizens have come together to face the challenge of a lifetime as they prepare to hike two mountains in Uganda, Mount Elgon (4321m) and Mount Kadam (3068m) to raise £20,000 for Focus Humanitarian Assistance, who provide immediate emergency relief following catastrophes, such as the unfortunate Tsunami of 2004, which devastated the life of millions. 

The Junglees are working together to raise £20,000 between now and Christmas to help those that have been affected by natural and man-made disasters.  While most people will be enjoying their Christmas roast or have their feet up watching TV, the team will be climbing the perilous mountains of , .

“This hike is one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever taken on, but I am determined to raise as much money as possible for those who really need it.  In the run up to Christmas I know people are thinking about buying gifts for their loved ones, but if they could give a little to support us, it would mean a lot to the thousands of people whose lives have been destroyed by disasters like the Tsunami that happened in Christmas 2004 and catastrophes as a result of Hurricane Katrina.  The images of people not having homes to go to really moved me and I hope that it will move our neighbours to help us reach our fundraising goal.” Said Shahira.

Irfan said that although the team does not have experience in hiking or climbing mountains they are preparing for the challenge by changing their lifestyles, forgoing junk food and chocolate, cutting down on car journeys and walking whenever they can.

“Each member of the team has an individual  training programme and are training together on  weekends.  They are hoping that the training time they spend together will help them bond before the real thing, where they will need one another’s support to keep going.” Said Zaheer.

The hard work will all be worthwhile for the team if they succeed in raising £20,000. Focus Humanitarian Assistance helps people whose lives are shattered due to catastrophic natural and man made disasters; like that we see often on the news, to reduce their dependence on humanitarian aid and facilitate their transition too sustainable, long term development. For more information about FOCUS do visit
www.akdn.org/focus

Najma, Irfan, Shahira and Zaheer have grown up in and are hoping the local community will support them in this hiking challenge. They will be joined by a team from and and together they will be hiking for up to eight hours a day, starting at times before dawn, to make their way through thick bush, cross small streams and walk through heavily-cropped village fields to get to the peak of both mountains.

"We hope other people in and around Hounslow borough will sponsor us if they can," said Najma. "This is by no means an easy adventure, but an adventure it sure will be. We request that you give whatever you can, big or small, whatever the amount it is, it will make a difference.”

 You can pay by credit or debit card, and the money will go directly to Focus Humanitarian Assistance. Where supporters are taxpayers, the charity will automatically receive 28% extra in Gift Aid, which makes Justgiving the most efficient way of sponsoring the team.

NB: This team page is in addition to our own individual justgiving pages & collectively we aim to reach this target of  £20,000.

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 taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Donation summary

Total
£1,021.56
+ £141.03 Gift Aid
Online
£500.00
Offline
£521.56

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