On Tuesday 26th Sep 23, I will attempt to virtually summit Mount Kilimanjaro on an elevated treadmill. Mount Kilimanjaro, at an elevation of 5,895m, and covering approx 56 miles (90 kilometres) is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest, free-standing mountain in the world. The purpose of this event is to join in the celebration of the Defence Medical Welfare Services’ (DMWS) 80th anniversary while raising funds for this charitable organisation.

DMWS is a charity that provides medical welfare support to all UK Service personnel going through physical or mental ill health, be it in hospital, rehabilitation or indeed, at home, through provision of practical and emotional support thus ensuring no soldier goes through the worry of illness or injury on their own. According to the UK Armed forces Mental Health annual Summary and trends over time (2007 – 2022), 1 in 8 UK Armed Forces were attended to within military healthcare for mental health related reasons between 2021-2022 and 1 in 43, were seen by a specialist mental health clinician between 2021 – 2022. In addition, according to DMWS, 70 million days are lost each year to mental health illness. DMWs therefore plays a critical role as, through their intervention projects, save the NHS ¼ million pounds each year. It is organisations such as this that Serving personnel can turn to for added support and recovery. As someone that is passionate about Mental Health in particular, l am very proud to be taking part is the DMWS celebrations so let’s celebrate in huge numbers by donating whatever amount we can for this just cause.