Jenny’s Kilimanjaro Challenge
Fundraising campaign by
Jenny Oakley
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€1,220.00raised of €5,000.00 goal goal
How this came about....... I came across some pictures one day of some men and women at Uhuru peak on the summit of kilimanjaro. A little sead was planted in my brain that day, lemme explain, you see......10 years ago i weighed 125 kilo, I wore size 26 (on a good day), when I walked to the corner shop I used to get a stitch and leg pain........in 2007 i decided ENOUGH!!!!!! I refuse to be the fattest person in the room , I refuse to hide behind my young son with the excuse that i just had a baby, I refuse to have random aches and pains and blame them on everything else rather than the extra weight i carried on my body every living moment of every living day!
I want to walk the marathon............. It was a crazy idea but I saw these people young, old, happy, smiling people, with looks of pure triumph on their faces, as they crossed that finish line. I am 30 years old, why cant I be one of those smiling, happy people?.........so i started walking, i dragged my ass out on to the Sliema seafront everyday and walked, I got shin splints and blisters and pain, I took catafast and voltaren and panadols, I stopped and cried a hundred times. How can you get so out of shape that you can't walk a mile without being in agony?.....I wanted to quit a thousand times, how much easier would life be to go home, put on some pyjamas, hide away from the rest of the world and eat a kit kat!.....But I persevered, and I knew it was gonna hurt but knew it was the only way. I WANNA WALK THE FRIGGIN' MARATHON!!!! So I would put on my trainers and get my fat ass out there, day after day after day........I started making healthier food choices, my weight started to drop, slowly, steadily, and then something happened....I walked the length of the seafront with NO pain, then it happened the next day and the next, I got faster, my muscles got stronger, I started to look forward to it. (WTF?) I was shocked!................ Marathon day came, i was so excited.....every person that walked/ran a marathon will tell you that you reach a point when you say, wow, this is actually gonna happen I will make it! That happened at Ta'xbiex.....I floated the last 4 km and crossed the line at 3hours and 5 minutes. 21 km in 3 hours.........when just over a year ago, I would cry in agony when I walked a mile! I was one of those smily, happy people. At that moment I swear to God, I felt like I could take on the world!
Different fitness challenges have kept me going and kept me fit over these last few years........in 2013 I will reach that pinacle age, the BIG 4-0..........I wanted a massive challenge......I wanna do something memorable for OTHERS and I wanna do something memorable for ME. Then I saw that picture of the triumphant, happy people that reached Uhuru peak, the roof of Africa........and decided that I want to be one of those smiling, happy people too, before I hit 40..........so, I scanned my brain for people that would do this with me...............The conversation went something like this dring dring dring dring (thats a telephone)............BRIAN!!!!!............. ow JEN!!!................listen Bri, i wanna climb Kilimanjaro for charity before I turn 40.........no hesitation, no question was ever asked, nothing, the immediate response was "i'm coming with you" xxxxxxxx so plan in motion, Brian and I are climbing KILI....(so excited already!)
Now what? So thats sorted we are climbing but we have no idea about anything, no idea what charity, no idea the physical challenge, no bloody idea about anything!!!! So I am trawling through facebook a couple of days after this imfamous conversation and come across a page called KIlimanjaro Challenge 7, I click into it and this is whats written..............
You’re standing there, disheveled and broken, looking down at the world from a vantage point perched 20, 000 feet in the air. You take a moment to gather your wits and think. You contemplate your past and how this whole expedition has affected your outlook on the world so profoundly. Before Kilimanjaro came along, life was going by you, with nothing REALLY memorable to show for your efforts. You had always wanted to get involved in something marvelous; something that would provide you with memories that would long linger within, once all was said and done. All the sacrifices, the heartache, the physical exertion…striving to fund-raise for something that would ultimate help your fellow man….you’re not sure whether to laugh, smile or break down out in tears. It’s finally over, you made it. You have conquered the highest free-standing mountain on earth! Relief.
The mountain
Kilimanjaro, with its peak (Uhuru) at 5, 895metres is the highest free-standing mountain on the planet and is located in Tanzania in East Africa. Although no technical expertise is required, the trek is a very challenging feat and making it all the way to the top is not without its dangers. Rarified (oxygen-deprived) air, freezing temperatures, strong winds and energy-sapping screes of shale and ice will all take their toll.
The cause
The expedition members will be expected to fund-raise for a home to accommodate 100 deaf, blind and physically disabled children in Awasi, Kenya. The present facilities (circa 30 km from our projected site) has been condemned and presently houses 35 children. The total cost for the project will be of 120, 000 euro, KC7 being responsible for financing the first phase (60, 000 euro)
STILL interested? If so, contact me..........
Rewards
Organizer
- Jenny Oakley
- Msida, MT
Donors
- Judith Farrugia
- Donated on Jul 08, 2013
- Judith Farrugia
- Donated on Jun 11, 2013
No updates for this campaign just yet
Donors & Comments
- Emmanuelle
- Donated on Aug 30, 2013
Go Jenny!
- Judith Farrugia
- Donated on Jul 08, 2013
- Judith Farrugia
- Donated on Jun 11, 2013
- Alexandra
- Donated on May 27, 2013
You're an inspiration to us all! Good luck sweetheart! You can do it! :D xxx
- Judith Farrugia
- Donated on May 06, 2013
- krista galea
- Donated on Apr 30, 2013
- John
- Donated on Apr 20, 2013
Go for it Jenny ;)
- Michelle "Zumba" Smith
- Donated on Apr 20, 2013
So proud of you Jenny!!!!
- Angela Embury
- Donated on Apr 20, 2013
You made a difference !!!
- Matthew Farrugia
- Donated on Apr 01, 2013
... your story is really touching... when everything seemed to go downhill you kept your spirits high... everyone should learn from your story... Jenny keep focused on your target and I wish the best of luck!!
Go Jenny!