Tuesday 27 July 2010
ShelterBox team smash fundraising targets before Kilimanjaro climb
Chris Donald and Sharon O'Keefe training in the North of England for the climb.
A group of intrepid adventures are all set to tackle the world’s largest free-standing mountain…
12 ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members and volunteers started the ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro yesterday to raise money for ShelterBox.
Initial fundraising targets were smashed before the group had even left the UK. The total now stands at more than £13,000.
The team, who are attempting to climb Africa’s highest peak, consists of nine individuals from Cornwall, two Americans and one Canadian climber.
The event is the brainchild of SRT members Sharon O’Keefe and Chris Donald from Newquay, Cornwall who wanted to do something significant to mark the 10th anniversary of the disaster relief charity.
Inspirational spirit
‘We decided we’d like to raise a £1,000 for every year ShelterBox has been active, however, we now believe the final collection once we come back could be around £14,000!
‘Having worked in the field and witnessed extreme conditions, it’s never escaped us that to do what ShelterBox does requires donations.
‘It’s that spirit that inspired us and the others to push to raise £10,000 to mark the 10th anniversary; but to have raised nearly £13,000 before we even started is beyond our wildest dreams,’ said Sharon and Chris on the day before departure.
After 18 months of planning and fundraising events in America, Canada and the U.K, the group set off for Tanzania on Thursday, July 22, to take on the challenging seven-day Kilimanjaro Machame Route.
The group arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday morning and travelled six hours by coach to Tanzania. They then spent two days on arrival acclimatising to the conditions, during which time they worked with a local school at the base of the mountain in the town of Moshi.
Making the difference
Sharon said: ‘We spent an amazing couple of hours at the school. Even though it was a Saturday, all 200 kids had turned out in their uniform to greet us!
‘We gave them ShelterBox school bags with coloured pencils and maths sets inside. We then handed out brand new classroom text books that we bought for them from some of the funds we raised. Their old ones were about 20 years old and falling apart.
‘Finally, we gave them the footballs and the scene in front just made you laugh, smile but also cry with happiness. How can something so simple and everyday like a football make these kids so happy? It was a brilliant and emotional day.’
Chris, who has been deployed to Africa three times, twice to Niger (floods) and once to Sudan (conflict), added: ‘Mount Kilimanjaro is a potent symbol of the continent where ShelterBox has delivered disaster relief tents and humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of families.
‘What better way to raise money than to tackle the highest point in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world?’
The full team of climbers are as follows Sharon O’ Keefe and Chris Donald (both Newquay) Sean Jarvis and Steve Blunsdon (both St Agnes) Phil Duloy (Falmouth) Lizzie Treglowen (Helston) Richard Mcsweeney (Hayle) Marc and Emily Eccles (both Truro) Dave Achtemichuk (Canada) and Marc and Eric Dyer (USA).
You can follow the team’s progress on their blog...just click here!
If you would like to donate please visit http://www.justgiving.com/kiliteam2010
