Patra sponsors Kilimanjaro challenge to raise money for brighter futures
We are fortunate to live in a nation where everyone has the access to education, healthcare and housing. However, this is not the case for those children who are born in Third World Countries. The Red Rubber Ball Foundation is committed to helping alleviate poverty in Kenya with the firm believe that education is a key to unlocking its historic poverty trap. Patra Selections is please to support Red Rubber Ball Foundation in this endeavour.
Five years ago Neil Kirby offered to raise funds for a friend who wanted to help feed orphan children in Kenya. Little did he realise that it would become a key part of his life and in December see him take 15 young Kenyans on an adventure to climb Kilimanjaro.
Anything is possible with a little help from Red Rubber Ball
Red Rubber Ball is a leadership and executive coaching company based in the UK. The firm strongly believes that ‘anything is possible’. With Neil’s passion for unlocking the full potential in people and a strong belief that education is significant in overcoming poverty. The company has put 5% of their income into its foundation – funding community projects, scholarships and sports clinics in various villages of Kenya.
The foundation is zealous about developing and enabling the full potential of underprivileged children from the slums of Kenya.
The Kilimanjaro Challenge
The trek will provide once in a lifetime opportunity for young Kenyan students to develop their leadership skills in a challenging environment and help them understand that belief and hard work can help them achieve their dreams and ambitions.
For those like founder and Trustee Neil Kirby living near London, there aren’t too many hills nearby to prepare them for the 5,895 metres that is the summit of Kilimanjaro. So, keen to find out whether their legs and their equipment were up to the challenge, the group of six volunteers set off for the North Wales Snowdonia National Park and Mount Snowdon.
Preparation
Saturday was a climb of Snowdon itself, an early start with poor weather forecast. The team were pleased to be able to test out their Patra Thermal Baselayers – a set of pure silk thermal long johns and vest base layers, especially as they had to endure a day of constant rain, plus hail and 45-mile an hour winds at the 1,085 metre summit of Snowdon.
The weather on the Sunday was even worse, with torrential rain and high winds throughout the day. Even the sheep took cover behind the stone walls!
Neil describes their weekend, “The weather was absolutely horrendous but now that we’ve dried out, it’s great to know that we were able to complete two tough treks and while we got wet, we did stay warm. This will be vital on our trip to Kilimanjaro. And our silks dried out very quickly overnight so we were ready to go again warm and dry the next day.”
The trip to Kilimanjaro (where temperatures may reach minus 20 degrees) is just one of several education projects The Red Rubber Ball Foundation run for dis-advantaged children in Kenya. The 14 students have been part of a scholarship programme ensuring that they were able to complete secondary school when their family circumstances meant they would be unable to do so without this support.
Essential protection
Patra is proud to be a part of this challenge, and to help the team keep warm in freezing temperatures we’ve provided sets of our thermal base layers for each member. This consisted of Long Sleeve Silk Thermal Vests and Long Johns. These are comfortable, lightweight and breathable – incredibly warm baselayers that work hard in challenging environments.
Helping young children achieve their dreams
The Kilimanjaro trek will provide once in a lifetime opportunity for young Kenyan students to develop their leadership skills in a challenging environment and help them understand that belief and hard work can help them achieve their dreams and ambitions.
Neil and his group of Red Rubber Ball Foundation supporters (14 of them altogether) are paying their own way and raising the funds needed for the young Kenyans to join them – travel, accommodation, food, park fees etc.
You can donate or find out more at:
http://www.redrubberball.co.uk/foundation/kilimanjaro-2015-16/
