On the 16th July I will be embarking on a Trek up to the Top of Mt Kilimanjaro (The highest mountain in Africa).  The peak of the mountain stands at 5896 meters above sea level and it can get as low as minus 20 degrees at the summit, so I am looking forward to investing in a nice pair of long johns!  The trek will take 6 days and I have chosen the hardest route up the mountain which is called "Machame".  Having never done any sort of trek ever before I thought that I might as well make it nice and difficult for myself.  I am planning to get lots of practise walking over the roundabouts of Milton Keynes in the next few weeks. 

I am doing the Trek with 2 reasons in mind.  Firstly to raise money for a fantastic charity called the Princes Trust, that I am a volunteer for outside of work, and secondly in memory of my father who passed away in May this year.  My dad would never have wanted to go to Africa although he always liked a challenge.

The Princes Trust works with young people aged 14-30 who have struggled at school, been in care, are long term unemployed or who have been in trouble with the law.    Currently around 1 in 5 young people are not in work and this costs the UK Economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while youth crime costs £1 billion each year. 

If you decide to donate anything from as little as £1.00 then your support would be greatly appreciated as it is for a fantastic cause.  If you decide to donate:

- A contribution of just £15 could help an unemployed person to start work in construction

- A contribution of just £25 could provide support so an unemployed single mum, could gain workplace skills

- A contribution of just £50 could provide the first days training for an unemployed young person to start up in business.

I have paid for the trip myself in full so every penny that you contribute will go to charity.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Tony Fields