From Cork To Kili

** Edited to add, this fundraiser is now closed, thankyou for your support **

Following my third visit to incredible Tanzania in October 2022 last, climbing Kilimanjaro for the second time for charity, I decided to try and shine a light on the amazing people who not only touched our lives but also saved them.

I have documented and shared our journey on my social media account, which has received huge attention to date. Here I have shared daily video diary entries on what exactly happened on this trip.

This includes how I got into trouble at the summit with crackling in my lungs and was ordered down immediately under the supervision of a guide and summit porter. This was coupled with the fact my husband got seperated from the group and got into serious difficulty needing oxygen and continuously trying to fall asleep. Thanks to the quick thinking of three of our guides and porters they saved his life by keeping him awake and moving and back down to base camp safely. What people arent aware of is if you fall asleep hypomthermia sets in and you dont wake back up. This was mere minutes after we witnessed an individual lose their sight as the guide they had booked with wasnt invested in their safety and how another person sadly passed away at the summit as their guide from another company didnt recognise the serious altitude signs they displayed.

To say we were in the best hands is an understatement.

I cannot explain our gratitude to them in looking after all of our group of 13 people, on one day alone they circled back and formed a human chain so none of us would fall knowing how frightened some of our group was. One guide stayed overnight with Teddy holding her hand as she cried, panicked as she had difficulty breathing. It was only after our descent both Teddy and I were checked by a doctor and both had pneumonia.

Seeing my stories drives home the fact that these people Im lucky enough to now call family, go above and beyond, but are on as little as $8 a day. Many of whom have family members of up to 20 people depending on their wage. One of our guides had a ten day old baby he left behind as he took us on Kilimanjaro, another guide only 26yrs old told me when I asked, how he supports his three siblings, mother and nephew of 22yrs (as his Father passed away), by paying all of their school fees. A huge responsibilty placed on his young shoulders and I struggled to keep my emotions in check as he told me his story.

Many of them have no choice to climb and can spend only 8 days a month at home, the rest on the mountain. They have witnessed colleagues and friends become injured or pass away. A very poignant moment I wont ever forget is stopping on our descent as a pile of grass was in a mound on a rock. Our guide explained a porter had lay down exhausted and fell asleep and never woke back up. As they pass, they lay grass as a mark of respect. I couldnt help thinking of how easy it can happen but how this porter had no other choice but to be there.

They are stuck in a cycle of not being able to be in a position to save any of their wage to educate themselves or afford to take time off to have the opportunity to learn.

I would now like to try and repay them by sending sixteen of them to college.

The money raised here will ensure their fees are covered and they can attend with no worry of being out of pocket.

I toiled long and hard with who to pick, as I knew I couldnt pick all 47 of the crew as much as Id have loved to.

As I called their names I witnessed grown men break down and cry in thanks as they hugged me and I cried along with them.

This is life changing not just for them but for their families as it means they get to triple their wage and get an opportunity to progress to become a guide or as a guide, upskill with the latest Wilderness First Response courses which are ever evolving.

This fundraiser will also cover the cost of taking 336 at risk and under privileged primary school children from Stella Maris Primary School and staff on their very first outing to a water park to teach them how to swim. Most of these children have never seen water not to mind ever been in it. These children have no idea what a play centre is and have only ever seen a swimming pool or water slide in a movie and feel its way beyond their reach, which I want to change.

A child should be allowed to have fun and every child should experience what water feels like and the delight of going down a slide and forgetting, even for a day that they too deserve a treat they feel is only worthy to people in the movies.

We will also provide a lunch and drink for everyone that day and entry to a fun park. We will have a qualified swimming teacher on hand in our group and will do this outing across four trips for safety reasons. This promises to be an unforgettable occasion that will not only impact their lives but also those of us lucky to make it happen.

The fundraising monies will also be used to puchase basketball hoops and basketballs for the school and to cover the cost of return flights for our beloved Teddy and filmographer Abdillah to be able to travel for the very first time to Ireland and attend a fundraising night we are holding to raise funds for this very cause.

As always, all of the above will be documented and shared on social media so you can see where your donation is going and how much of a difference this will make to so many lives.

I would ask you to please share this with your circle of family and friends and help us reach the daunting target needed to pull this all off.

Thankyou so much for your support x