My name is Zak Read, I am a first year Modern Foreign Languages student at Aberystwyth University. I love hiking and the outdoors and have done from a young age thanks to my supportive and intrepid Mother and Father.

I chose to support the Meningitis Research foundation because I want to raise awareness so students and parents can be educated on the symptoms of meningitis in order to catch it early and avoid the more severe symptoms or a fatality. Despite being a high risk group it has become apparent to me that the average student knows little to nothing about Meningitis.

1. "One in four of these new friends (15 – 19 year olds) WILL be carrying meningococcal bacteria, which can cause meningitis in the back of their throats, compared to one in ten of the UK population." - https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/meningitis-students-what-you-need-know

In 2021 I will be climbing Kilimanjaro. This has been a dream of mine since my grandfather told me stories of his summit of Kilimanjaro as a young man. My climb is in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation; a charity which aims to research and raise awareness of two serious diseases, Meningitis and Septicaemia. Shockingly, meningitis and neonatal sepsis are the second biggest infectious killer of children under the age of five on the planet, affecting more than 5 million people every year! They can kill you within 12 hours and are responsible for more deaths of children under 5 than malaria, measles, tetanus and AIDS combined. Meningitis Research Foundations work is providing better access to vaccines, health systems that can diagnose and treat children, and support to survivors of meningitis. Thanks to your support they've pioneered a global roadmap, bringing together global expertise to defeat meningitis by 2030. Its time to make meningitis a global health priority, you can do this today by donating using the give now button.