YAY! Working life is not the end for me. I found a way to keep travelling and work at the same time, who would have thought ;). I didn’t think something like this would cross my path this soon, but I saw this opportunity!

Who & What: Every year, VSO (a charity) in combination with Accenture (my first and current employer) organizes a trek to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Click here to read more about the challenge. About 25 Accenture people from all over the world are participating, and I’m joining!!!! A significant part of this project is to climb Kilimanjaro but next to the trek, participants are asked to raise a significant amount of money for a VSO project. Therefore, this challenge not only requires solid physical skills, but also people skills are super important.

When? I will be in Tanzania from the 13th – 22nd February, allowing me to ALMOST celebrate my 26th birthday on the top of Kilimanjaro!

Where?

source: www.africannaturalheritage.org

How & Where? This challenge involves climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest mountain of Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world. The highest point of Kilimanjaro is Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level. That’s PRETTY high.. The whole trip cost about 9 days with trekking involved every day.

Why?

• A personal challenge As most of you know, in 2009 I was struck by the disease of Guillain-Barré. This disease caused my legs to be almost completely paralyzed and I lost partial functionality in my arms and hands. It cost me 2 months in a rehab clinic and another year of physical therapy (and a lot of love and support from close friends and family) to regain enough strength in my body to live by myself again. Almost 5 years later I am back up to about 80% of my physical condition before GB and as I started working now and finally got a proper daily rythm, I am now able to constructively start working on my strength and condition. Although running, playing sports, surfing and much more is possible again, reaching Kilimanjaro would be a huge physical and emotional personal victory 🙂
• Profile myself within Accenture Starting within a new company, it’s very important and fun to get to know people within my department and company, but it’s also of great value to learn about the international Accenture spirit. I think an exercise like this is a great way to get to know the company better, hear stories about how the company works in different parts of the world and just to meet great colleagues from all over the world. Also I think climbing Kilimanjaro really speaks for my personality and will show people within my direct network I’m not only a thinker, but also a do-er :).
• Charity VSO has been a partner of Accenture for a while now and next to a gigantic amount of money raised through challenges and other initiatives, the VSO Business Partnership program (VBP) provides the opportunity for employees to take a leave of absence to volunteer their time and professional skills to help local communities in the developing world. The funds raised through this challenge will support VSO’s Secure Livelihoods work – helping disadvantaged people in some of the world’s poorest countries secure an income and so a future for themselves and their families. Funds will also support VSO’s projects in East Africa where the trek takes place.

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How & Why donate?

First of all, click here 😉

So why donate? I got quite some reasons actually!! Well, to start, you could donate because you like me a lot ;). Then, you could donate because you want to make it possible for me to participate in this challenge and achieve my objectives. Also, giving to charity is a good thing, and studies prove it makes you feel better ;). And if you give enough, it might even be tax-deductible 😀

One important thing to note is that a part of your donation will go to my participation on the trek. This does not mean that you pay for my holiday, my flights or anything, but part of your donation will be used to organize the trek and will cover food, salary for the porters and guides and other things. If you have problems with this, feel free to let me know and I’m sure we can work something out 🙂

Just a note on donating through the above mentioned webpage: donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

If you prefer, you can transfer the money to me and I will transfer it directly to the charity. Contact me by email, facebook or phone and I will get you my bank details after which I will transfer it to VSO.