Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Now that I have you hear let me explain...

In less than a week, on the 6th October I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (all 5,896 meters or 19,344 feet of her)...this will be by far the most physically challenging thing I have ever done and also one of the most rewarding.

So why on earth are you doing this I hear you cry...

Last year a great friend and mentor of mine founded a charity called 'Giving Africa' and he asked me if I would be willing to help. Once I found out what they were planning I jumped at the change and promised I would do everything I could to support this great cause.

'Giving Africa' raises funds to build and run schools in West Africa, in particular Burkina Faso. Burkina is one of the poorest countries on our planet and sadly her people are the least literate in the world with only one in twelve girls able to read.

Our challenge is to change this by giving these children the opportunity for something that I know I've on occasion taken for granted...'an education'.

Instead of telling you lots of sad stories that you've heard before about the number of people who die each year as a result of lack of education in developing countries or about those that do get to attend school and have to walk more than three hours each way to do so, I'd rather focus on the positives:

£5,000 will go a long way towards building a school that will help hundreds of children in the near future and thousands over the years to come. For every one child that receives an education they will lift twelve other people out of poverty with them.

Our first school will be able to teach 510 children (that's more than 6,000 people positively affected by this one project). The best thing is that as these first children complete their educations more can start and the cycle repeats over and over. This one school will have a huge impact on so many people over time, but as you've guessed we're not going to stop at one, or two or indeed ten or twenty...for as long as there is a need for new schools we will continue to work towards building them, it's going to be a long road but I for one am looking forward to the journey.

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and I'd like to thank-you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all the people your helping with your amazing act of generosity.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thanks again,

Paul