TWO youngsters have followed in their mountain-climbing mum’s footsteps and scaled Ben Nevis for charity.
Nina McKinney, 11, and her brother Felix, eight, successfully scaled Scotland’s tallest mountain, battling tricky conditions during the seven-hour round trip to support Tanzanian porters to become mountain guides.
The siblings, who live in North Berwick, were inspired to take on the challenge by their mum Catherine, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year.
She was joined by friends Sarah Gillanders, Jo Holmes, Penny Laurie-Pile, Alison Wilkie, Fee Andrews and Laura Greig to scale Africa’s tallest mountain and raise money for Reverse Rett.
When Nina and Felix’s sister Eliza was three years old, she was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological and developmental disorder that affects the way the brain develops.
The group’s fundraising hike for Reverse Rett, which finances research into genetic treatments and medications which might one day help Eliza to have a better quality of life, raised more than £20,000.
READ MORE: Team successfully climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Reverse Rett
While climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the group were struck by the hard work of the Tanzanian porters, a dedicated team of men and women who help hikers.
They welcome climbers to each camp, carry all the tents, food, cooking equipment, and most of the climbers’ equipment.
The team of East Lothian climbers, named Sea to Summit, got to know many of the Tanzanian porters during their expedition and decided to support as many as they could through their education to become mountain guides.
Catherine said: “We were amazed by how hard the porters work.
“We contacted the mountain guide college in Tanzania and have pledged to support the education of three of the porters that helped our group: Shedrack, Phillip and Francis.
“Another porter, Frankie, has already had his education funded by money raised through our group of climbers, and he received his qualification recently.
“Nearly everyone wants to become a guide, as they receive higher wages and can provide a better life for their families.
“To become a guide, you need to attend college and take a qualification, and take English lessons, so it is often out of reach for most of the Tanzanian locals.
“Many of the porters will never have the chance to become guides as they can’t afford the education that they need to gain the qualification.”
When Nina and Felix heard about the porters’ struggles, they decided to help raise money for them by climbing Ben Nevis.
Their JustGiving page, which was updated after they completed the challenge, reads: “The weather was good at the bottom, but as we climbed up the mountain, visibility decreased and they had some hard conditions to deal with – slippy rocks, rain and cloud.
“It also dropped in temperature and was freezing and snowy at the top!”
Visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ninaandfelix to donate to the intrepid youngsters’ fundraiser.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here