I’ve decided to hike Kilimanjaro in August 2025 for TZ Rising, a charity that I work really close with and have done for about 5 years now. You’re probably wondering, What is this charity, and why did she choose to support it?

TZ Rising is a charity that helps girls and women in Tanzania, Africa to access education through school, college, university, and beyond. This is my 4th fundraising event for TZ Rising, and it probably won’t be my last either. I’ve previously run the Richmond half marathon and completed two 100km hikes from London to Brighton, all in support of this cause.

I choose this charity because I know the funds raised go directly to the women, funding their dreams and giving them the tools they need to build a better future. TZ Rising currently supports 25 women in Moshi, rural Tanzania. Before I start my Kilimanjaro hike and also after the hike, I’ll be visiting Moshi to meet and stay with these incredible women after hearing so much about them over the past 5 years, meeting them via video calls and hearing about their lives through letters they send - I’m so excited to see firsthand the impact of the work that TZ Rising do.

TZ Rising was co-founded by my cousin, Michael Fox, and Inno, who is based in Tanzania. Together, they have worked for TZ Rising for around 10 years now alongside their full time jobs to help these 25 women escape poverty, helping them to get into school, purchasing equipment they need for their studies, paying for college fees and helping them to get a job and pursue their dreams.

Living in Europe, we often take for granted access to a free education system. In Tanzania, education is not freely accessible, and many women miss out on the opportunity to attend school or university. As a woman, an art teacher, and a teaching assistant, I know how transformative education can be, not just in terms of knowledge, but in opening doors to a brighter future and being able to pursue your dreams.

This is why I’m passionate about supporting TZ Rising and why I’ve taken on yet another big and (probably my most challenging lol) adventure! We have monthly meetings as a team to see how we can better prepare for this mad adventure, we have monthly hikes and plan to do more altitude climbs in Wales too. Kilimanjaro is the biggest mountain in Africa and will take 6 days to climb so it is definitely the biggest challenge that I’ve ever signed up to!

Please please do consider donating to this amazing charity and help me raise £3000 for women’s freedom! If I can find 300 people to each donate £10, which is essentially just an M&S sandwich and drink if you think about it- it can make a massive difference to these girls WHOLE lives through allowing them to go to school, college and university. Even £3/£5 (your morning coffee) would make such a difference and would mean so much.

Thank you so much for reading <3 I will hopefully post updates of my training and preparation for the climb too!