A team of colleagues from Belper-based construction firm Bowmer and Kirkland Limited are to take on the ultimate African Challenge to support leading overseas aid and development agency CARE International. Between 5th and 16th September, the team will take on the mighty Kilimajaro in Tanzania, the highest freestanding mountain in the world at 19,340 feet.

The group are made up of Phil Ellis, John and Sharon Carlin, Guy and Agnes Laughton, Michael Kirkland, Phil Robinson and Fiona Riley. Says Phil, “We’ve managed to assemble some of the finest athletes available for this highly demanding challenge! We’ll be aiming to raise as much money as possible for CARE as it’s such a fantastic cause. CARE International works in 70 countries around the world tackling poverty wherever the need is greatest. Across five continents, CARE’s work has an impact on more than 55 million people worldwide.”

This will be the third mountainous challenge taken on by the Bowmer and Kirkland team in aid of CARE. Other adventures have seen them take on the three highest peaks in the UK (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) in 24 hours, and the three highest peaks in Spain on foot and mountain bike! So far the team have raised over £25,000 for CARE.

In the next four months, the Bowmer and Kirkland mountaineers will be aiming to raise a further £30,000 through their Kilimanjaro challenge. Phil describes this as a “mammoth task”, and will be looking to all of their friends, relations, colleagues, contractors and suppliers to help them achieve their goal.

The team have been training hard for the event and taking on mountains in the UK as practice. Says Phil, “We’re really looking forward to the challenge, but with a sense of trepidation as well. We’ve trained very hard for this event and are very much prepared for the physical challenge but it’s quite daunting to know we’ll be visiting a new, unknown country, and have had to have lots of vaccines for some quite horrible diseases in preparation!”

CARE’s Challenge Events Manager, Neil Munro, stated, “It’s a fantastic challenge for these guys to take on and an ambitious and admirable fundraising target. We wish the team all the best for their trip and hope very much they enjoy the experience. It might encourage the team to know that Tanzania is one of the countries in which CARE works. In Tanzania we improve access to quality education, fight HIV and AIDS, improve health care, improve nutrition and distribute food to vulnerable populations. Hopefully this knowledge will offer the team the motivation they need to reach the top!”

Anyone wishing to support the Bowmer and Kirkland team can visit their fundraising website www.justgiving.com/thebigonekili2008

For more information: Jo Broughton, CARE Challenge PR & Communications Executive 020 7934 9470

Email: broughton@careinternational.org