My story is I was a Looked After Child for a number of years and wish to raise awareness around Children in Care being capable of achievement. So many Looked after Children have limited aspirations; not through their own choice but by those who do not raise the aspirations for them. So I'd like to show that as a former Looked After Child, I am embarking on an adventure to Mount Everest Base Camp this November. I am self funding the trip which is in excess of £3000 and all monies raised will go directly to my chosen charity (minus the 5% Just Giving take).

I have chosen Mount Everest to conquer two fears; one being the cold and secondly flying. As you all know the Himalayas are incredibly cold and the flight into Lukla airport is terrifying. There are only a handful of qualified pilots who are able to land at the airport given the treacherous mountain ranges; it is named as one of the most dangerous airports in the world. As for not liking the cold, this is a characteristic of children who have been exposed to Neglect.

As I was growing up my paternal grandmother, Granny Mckay, would often send me letters, cards and pocket money in the post, all the way from Belfast across to England. She was as constant with this as she was with her faith, and this was evident in her letters she would send me. Granny Mckay worked as a Sunday school teacher for many years at The Welcome Evangelical Church. The Church supported her when her husband passed away as they do with many other local widowers. The Welcome Church has been a light in the Woodvale Road area for over a 100 years. The Church has over the years, and through 'The Troubles', continued to support its local community. They are now spreading their light further afield into Belfast. They have recently built a state of the art sensory room for children and people with autism to access from all areas across Belfast.

I feel that so often the smaller Christian churches who do such great work, whether it be in outreach, visiting parishioners, fund raising etc do not get the recognition they deserve. Christian churches work tirelessly to help the sick, disabled, homeless, the lost and lonely. So I'd like to assist them with my efforts and fund raise on their behalf.