Ten Hurst and local residents helped raise over £100,000 for Kidscape by recently completing the grueling climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. At the forefront of the expedition were Josh Braid, who had previously dragged a rocking horse to the South Pole for the charity, as well as Dan Lustig, hairdresser and star of Gogglebox. The others to complete the epic challenge included Si Woodjetts, Sam Wood, Ollie Kuehne, Christopher Tipping, Paul Brodgen, Rob Noble, Jocelyn Crouch, Scott Crouch and Dale Ruebin, who filmed the event for an upcoming documentary.
The group took on a seven-day ascent of Africa’s highest peak (5,895 metres) from 30th January to 8th February to raise awareness of bullying and it marked 40 years of Kidscape’s charity work, protecting children from bullying and harm. Dan told us: “It was both the best and hardest moments of my life so far, but worth every breath and step to reach the summit with my new friends for life.”
Josh Braid, Samuel Wood and Ollie Kuehne extended the adventure with a world-first challenge: A ‘Sea to Summit’ ironman-style triathlon starting with a 3.8km swim around Toten Island in Tanga Bay, then a 450km bike ride over three days to Londorossi Gate and finally a 60km trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro, joining the other heroes for the final ascent.
“The hardest part of the challenge,” said Josh, “was climbing on day three when, after the sea and cycle, our bodies were depleted and we were walking long distances at altitude. Add sickness into the equation and I thought that I was going to have to call off this world f irst challenge.”
The sea-swim was a massive unknown as locals told them no one had attempted it and currents, ships and sharks could all call the attempt off. Local traffic was a real challenge on the cycle stage as well as nasty speed bumps and for good measure their support vehicle got stuck. “The most rewarding moment was reaching the summit with emotions so high and knowing we had completed our world first challenge. To have so much of the team there with us was so special to savour the moment and it was a breath of fresh air with so much positive vibes.”
To learn more about Kidscape and their work visit www.kidscape.org.uk