This October I will be hiking to the Mount Everest Basecamp and raising money for War Child - a charity who stand up for the rights and protection of children in war zones.

The hike covers 130km in 11 days through the Himalayas, rising to an altitude of 5,364m altitude, where there is 50% less oxygen in the air compared to at sea level. What further complicates things is I will have to fly into Lukla airport, which is statistically the most dangerous airport in the world, which becomes even more perilous when you factor in the plane will be carrying the weight of my solid steel cojones.

In all seriousness, there is a plethora of reasons why I have decided to take on this challenge.

The last few years coverage on the atrocities committed in Ukraine and Gaza, and unfortunately elsewhere around the globe, have caused me to console my position and the privilege I have, simply because of where I was born. While I am limited in what I can do to try help, I have decided on my conscious I’d rather do something than nothing and hopefully try make a small difference. To those who know me, you’ll know that I’m not a very serious person so this last paragraph will probably sound very faux, but truthfully I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time socially to discuss matters like this that I do genuinely care about, and I hope this can be a new page for me in that regard. War Child is striving for a world in which no child's life is torn apart by war. They protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living in war zones and this is a cause I’m am proud to fundraise for.

The other half is I really want the challenge. As of the time of writing I haven’t smoked a cigarette for 32 days - which is probably the longest I’ve gone without smoking since I was 17, and given the last 5 years I probably smoked 10-12 cigarettes a day, my lungs probably bare a striking resemblance to 2 bin bags full of dust. More so, I have always been on the heavier side and my weight is something I have always struggled with. While I’m not expecting to arrive at Everest Basecamp with a 6-pack, I am hoping this gives me a goal to aim for and above all else, I want to make it to Basecamp because I know a lot of people won’t think I can do it.

I would be really grateful for any support and I hope to try share this journey as best I can! Any donations of any size would be really appreciated and fingers crossed I actually make it up this hill.