I am taking on this challenge to fundraise for War Child . I was a child of war myself (born just as Iraq attacked Iran in 1980), yet I was lucky enough to have a safe and blissful childhood. Iran though has always lived in the shadow of war and its neihbouring countries have been in war for years now. I am doing this for all those children who have lost their loving parents in these wars...who never had a chance to live a safe and happy childhood, let alone pursue their interests and passion.

I consider myself fortunate to have had a childhood like I did, having loving parents and a safe environment to grow up in. But what made my childhood special, was my time spent trekking with my father. He has been inspirational and influential in every positive way. The love and respect which I have for nature and the mountains have more or less shaped my life and I am ever so grateful to him for having shared his passion with me. Damavand (5,610 m - 18,406 ft, highest peak in the middle east and highest volcano in Asia) was a childhood dream which was never realized as my dad's health detoriated and he ended up having a by-pass surgery and pretty much stopped mountain climbing. Now years have gone by... I have two little children and live far away from my beloved family. Yet my love for mountains has not changed a bit. This year I am visiting Iran in August which is the perfect season to climb Damavand. I am planning to try and climb this beautiful mountain with my husband, Joy.

This trek depends on so many things (my fitness, our visa, our children's health, my family who are kindly going to babysit for us, etc) but I am going to give it my absolute best... I really hope I can make it.

 

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