Later this year I am going to do something stupid. I’m going to climb Mount Mulanje, the highest mountain in southern Africa. It will take 5 days to get up and I’ll be carrying a heavy pack all the way.

People keep asking me if I’m in training. I’m not. I probably should be. What those people don’t know is that it’s not climbing the 3,002m peak that worries me. It’s the insects. I am extremely attractive to insects. Even in the UK I get bitten, a lot. When I was working on an outdoor theatre production I got bitten so much that they put it in the accident book.

I’m doing all this for AMECA, a UK charity who have built a sustainable hospital in Malawi. Adults pay for their treatment, which funds free medical care for children. Sadly there is no NHS in Malawi. So, is this just about helping people in Africa? (As if that wasn’t reason enough!) No.

The money that I’m raising pays bursaries for nurses from the UK to go to Malawi and work out there for 6 months. The nurses get valuable experience that they bring back to the UK. Everyone benefits.

I first wrote about this last summer, and I’ve had a lot of generous sponsorship from people. Only some of whom want me to suffer whilst I’m doing the climb. Some generous people donated anonymously, so I can’t thank them in person. But thank you. Thank you so so much to everyone who has helped. I really do appreciate it.

I’ve only got 4 months to reach my fundraising target of £2,550. If you can help out, the link is right here:

Please donate on my Virgin Money page

All the money goes straight to AMECA. Thank you.