From Loughboy to Kilimanjaro Direct

Hi everyone! We are a group of 4 teachers (2 retired and 2 yet to taste freedom!) based in Kilkenny. We are heading to Tanzania in Africa this summer as part of a fundraising mission for a Kilkenny-based charity, Kilimanjaro Direct. This charity was set up by our friend and former colleague, Sheila Ryan. Sheila was the music teacher in Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny for over 40 years. Her vision has been to "alleviate poverty through education" and Kilimanjaro Direct has built 10 houses and a primary school in the foothills of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania since 2005.

The ethos of the charity is that 100% of ALL donations go directly to the running of the school and not 1 cent is taken for expenses or administration fees. Everybody involved in the charity pays their own expenses. The 4 of us travelling to the school are funding our own flights, accommodation and other expenses. We need YOU, however, to help us in raising money for this amazing organisation which we will personally deliver to Tanzania. This will help to pay teachers' wages, buy school books, pay for meals for the students and so much more. You can see evidence of where all of the money goes on Kilimanjaro Direct's social media. We cannot wait to see the work that Sheila puts into Kilimanjaro Direct in person, and we truly hope that our fundraising drive will go some way to helping her to cover the cost of this amazing work. 

We were supposed to travel in 2020, but Covid put a stop to our plans... We are reopening this gofundme and will be finally travelling this August. Whatever donation you can give is gratefully received. Thank you!

Nicola Brennan, Kevin Cleary, Teresa Daly and John McDonald.