Mount Kilimanjaro Challenge

Hey All, 

I am going to take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on 14th to 24th March 2019. We will be taking the Lemosho route, putting in 9 hours of walking/climbing/crawling/ scrambling/ice smashing each day until we hopefully reach the top.   
 
Mount Kilimanjaro, is the highest mountain in Africa, about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) from its base, and 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level and takes about 6 days to climb. 

The main aim is to support several causes close to me;

Cardiomyopathy UK  - in honour and memory of my buddy Lindsey Gordon Thomas who passed away in October 2016. 

Medical fundraising for Eman Shaukat - A five year old little girl suffering from global delay cerebral palsy with the hope of raising funds towards a "Mollii Suit" to aid improvement of motor impairment. 

SOS - Association Tarwanou pour les enfants en situation Difficile  - A charity based in Morocco that provide support, assistance and education to orphaned children.

To start off with, I was inspired to sign up to this challenge by my good mate Gavin Hoey who will also be doing the climb. Gav has had a tough time recently stemming from a few life events that form the basis of some of our charity selections. So it is really thanks to him that this is being undertaken and I am glad I will be doing it alongside him. 

It takes a lot for someone to talk about their mental health, let alone share it with the world, so I am beyond proud of what Gav has done.

Gav's story can be found below and I urge you to read it as a revelation of how he almost became another statistic to male suicide.  

Gav's Story 

Gav will be climbing for Cardiomyopathy UK and CALM and his donation page can be found here. 

Cardiomyopathy UK

The next point of inspiration is the encouragement and outright bravery of my colleague and friend Lindsey Gordon Thomas.

One of the best friends I will ever know who sadly lost a battle to a rare heart condition at the age of 33.



Pic 1: Linds setting himself up for what he thought was a "Blue Steel" artsy picture within a picture, but really its a picture of  us taking the mickey out of him for turning up for the night looking like Cuba Gooding Jr.

Pic 2: Linds, Gav (climbing buddy) and me

Losing Lindsey really came out of the blue as this condition can often go unnoticed and strike at any time.

Lindsey was a healthy, active, fun loving guy who was always the life and soul of any party, but was diagnosed with Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy or ARVC, a defect he had since birth but didn't know about.  

Sadly, Lindsey's heart was damaged beyond repair and the deterioration was swift.

However, even during these difficult times Lindsey spoke of making the most of things and pushing to achieve something. He would often have moments quoting the greatest inspirational (and sometimes cheesy) lines from one of his favourite films, Rocky, in an attempt to motivate us to get on with life and overcome obstacles when faced with them. 

Thinking of Lindsey inspired me to go and do something that would allow me to support those attempting to overcome obstacles or difficulties that they may be going through.  

Eman Shaukat 

With that in mind, I will also be raising funds for Eman Shaukat, a five year old little girl from Manchester with global delay cerebral palsy.

Eman is unable to walk, talk, sit or move unaided. Her mother has to turn her many times in the night so she doesn't get pressure sores. 

Eman cannot feed herself and her mother has to provide 24 hour support. She doesn't cry or moan without reason and she appears almost trapped in her body viewing the world through the most beautiful brown eyes. 

Eman enjoying "Bear Day" at her school

Despite these difficulties, the smile Eman gives her mum when she wakes up is priceless. 

Eman requires a lot of equipment and the burden placed on her parents is a real battle to deal with in all aspects. 

Eman recently trialled a "Mollii Suit" a specially designed suit to aid motor function and stimulate muscles within the body. 

These suits are not ordinarily available on the NHS and cost in the region of £4000+. To assist in the funding toward such a suit or provide support as Eman grows would be amazing for her and her family. 

SOS - Association Tarwanou pour les enfants en situation Difficile

The final cause is SOS - Association Tarwanou pour les enfants en situation Difficile, a very small charity in Morocco that goes beyond its resources to provide support to orphaned children. 

Food donations to the children of SOS. 

The charity is so small it doesn't even have a website but focuses all of its efforts on providing food, care, support and education where possible to children all throughout Morocco. 

The work that the amazing volunteers at this charity do is outstanding and it would be great to give them a real lift to support their work. 

The climb will be entirely self funded with all donations raised going to the causes listed. 

Please support my climb with a donation, as your donations will most definitely make a difference to the causes we aim to raise funds for.  

Many, many thanks x

Azhar 

Links for more info provided below, if you have the time, please give them a read. 

Cardiomyopathy UK
www.cardiomyopathy.org 

SOS - Association Tarwanou pour les enfants en situation Difficile
SOS - Facebook Page 

Mollii Suit 
https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/mib100/chapter/Summary