I'm attempting Kilimanjaro for UK Wildlife Rescue

My name is Paul Matthews.

I apologise in advance for the rambling introduction, but I would appreciate it if you did read it.

I am 67 yrs old and until 3 yrs ago I lived in Hereford.

Having retired from the old bill about 8 yrs ago I became a volunteer for Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue.

It is the only free wildlife rescue organisation serving Herefordshire and the surrounding area, including the Welsh Marches.

When I describe it as an organisation, it is tiny!

The rescue centre is run by two ladies and is entirely dependent on volunteers and donations (unlike some charities which pay their management huge salaries in 2023 RSPB CEO was paid £200,000, British Heart Foundation CEO £189,000, Cancer Research CEO £279,000, RSPCA CEO over £140,000).

The first job I did for Hereford Wildlife Rescue was to transport a weak and stranded Manx Shearwater from a Hereford industrial estate to a specialist seabird rehabilition centre in Somerset.

As a volunteer I was called on to rescue/collect various injured, young or sick creatures including swans, ducks and ducklings, gulls, buzzards, red kites, owls, woodpeckers, peregrin falcons, fallow deer, bats and hedgehogs.

Some were healed and released, some didn't make it, and some recovered but were not fit for release into the wild (and became permanent residents). I would also help with releases into the wild, collect donated animal food and materials needed for the upkeep of the centre..................enough! Get on with it!

Last year some chaps (Welsh Wanderers) I used to hang about with asked if I fancied hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro (just under 20,000 ft high) in Tanzania.

Silly me ........... "OK, I'll have a go! I used to be reasonably fit".

As a consequence 16 blokes averaging sixty something years old, carrying beerguts and a selection of age-related afflictions are aiming to plod up the hill in September this year (just over a month away......plenty of time to get fit!).

I've no idea how the altitude will affect me!

I hope to raise as much money as possible for Sasha and Jacquie who run the charity. Unlike the more well known charities any small amount of money will make a significant and meaningful benefit to the wildlife of Herefordshire ........none of it will disappear into paying salaries and bonuses! It will be spent on feed, building aviaries, cages, the cost of running the centre.

Although the charity may not be based in your geographical location the diminishing wildlife of the UK is a collective responsibility and saving just one creature, where ever it may be, is of benefit to the nation as a whole.

Additionally Sasha (Dr Norris) does educational presentations to highlight the state of our wildlife, and how people can help support what is left. She hopes to develop the centre to accept visitors(schoolkids) - not for profit but for education about animal welfare and conservation.

To be clear, I'm paying for this African adventure out of my own pocket, and ALL donations will go to the rescue centre.

Please give what you can.