Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa – and The Children’s Centre is offering adventurers the chance to enjoy the amazing views from the summit. The charity is organising the Kilimanjaro Trekking Challenge which will take place in October 2016, but if you want to experience this fantastic challenge you will need to sign up soon. There’s a presentation evening about the event on Thursday September 24th at The Children’s Centre’s HQ in Woodbourne Road, Douglas, starting at 7pm.

Mark Eastham, Adventure Events Fundraising Co-ordinator at The Children’s Centre, said:

“This will be our third fundraising trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro following similar events in 2010 and 2013. We had great feedback from both trips, and for 2016 we will again be running the trek in conjunction with Global Adventure Challenges. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a fantastic challenge whilst at the same time helping raise much needed funds for a local charity. We have 20 spaces in total, but 10 have already been filled so I would urge anyone who wants to be sure of their place to sign up as soon as possible. We’ll help with every aspect of the challenge including fundraising, training and kit – and the presentation evening is the ideal opportunity to find out more.”

Mount Kilimanjaro stands 5,895metres above sea level in northern Tanzania near the border with Kenya and is the world’s highest free standing mountain. The fundraising trek from October 6th to 16th next year will follow the Machame Trail. The trip starts with a flight to London and then on to Kilimanjaro International Airport, and a transfer to Moshi. The next day the walking begins with a trek through the rain forest to Machame Camp. Day four is another long hike to Shira Camp which is at 3,840metres above sea level. The schedule each day is structured so that trekkers can gradually acclimatise to the high altitude. The general rule is ‘walk high, sleep low’, so on several days walkers will climb to a higher altitude and then descend to an overnight camp. There’s another six or seven hours of trekking on day five, followed the next day by a walk to the Great Barranco Wall and on to Karanga Camp at 4,100metres. Stunning views of the Decken Glaciers will be the trekkers’ reward on day seven to Barafu Camp. Day eight is the final climb to the summit at Uhuru Peak, starting in darkness in the early hours and watching the spectacular sunrise as the summit nears. There’s time to soak up the stunning views before descending to the overnight camp. There’s a long descent to Moshi on day nine, and some time to explore the town before the flight home.

The Children’s Centre is an independent Manx registered charity which develops, manages, and pioneers a variety of community initiatives and services aimed at enabling children, young people, and families to realise their full potential. Over 40% of children on the Island use services provided by the charity, including nursery and pre-school care, and early intervention schemes. But to run these and many other services for children, families and young people costs more than ?20,000 per week, and fundraising initiatives play a vital role in meeting this target.

If you wish to attend the presentation evening – or want more information – please email Mark Eastham at markeastham@thechildrenscentre.org.im or phone 676076.

More event details can also be found at http://www.thechildrenscentre.org.im/adventure-events/  

Photo - Mike Wade, Kathryn Fowler and Barry Williams check out the toilet facilities at 16,000 feet above sea level during a previous Children’s Centre trek to Mount Kilimanjaro.