Braeburn Vs Kilimanjaro
During half term a group of 18
students and 2 members of staff braved high altitude, freezing temperatures and
not so pleasant toilets to try to conquer the world’s tallest free standing
mountain – Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of KESHO and KSPCA. Students and parents
had an early start meeting at school at 4am to get luggage packed and on the
road. The anticipation, excitement and apprehension were palpable. The first
few days were tougher than we had expected. From Day 2 onwards we saw students
slowly experiencing the effects of altitude- early morning wake up calls from
students who were sick in their sleeping bags, quiet walks whilst others
battled with headaches and feelings of nausea. Day 3 saw a number of students vomiting
as we reached altitudes of 4600m; definitely not our finest moment but once
against our students showed compassion towards each other, support and an
abundance of hugs were provided. As we reached each camp our story was
spreading and many others climbers were interested to pass on their words of
good luck and discover how we were all getting on. When we reached our summit
camp – Barafu Camp we met a gentleman who had heard about this crazy school
group attempting to climb to roof of Africa – he wasted no time in telling us
we had no chance of making it to the top! – A challenge our students strongly
accepted and took a “watch this space” stance on his less than kind words. That
evening, knowing we all had a tough night ahead, students were provided with
letters from home – a truly special moment, we had tears before they had even
opened them, students relished in sharing their parent’s motivational messages
with others and we laughed and cried as a group. We headed off to bed hoping to
get some sleep before our 1am wake up – sleep became more and more difficult
with altitude and this was not helped by the howling winds ripping through our
tents. At 1am we were up and dressed in what felt like 900 layers ready to face
the Baltic temperatures. The pace is slow as you make your way up to Stella
point and Uhuru Peak and tiredness really takes over your eyes, every step
causes strain on your breathing and as you are walking up, you see many people
being brought back down the mountain, having being unsuccessful in their
attempt. Braeburn kept trudging on inspired by each other, driven by the
beautiful sunrise and determined to achieve their dreams. On many occasions Mr
Read and I felt emotional watching the strength of our students. We finally
reached Stella Point and had Uhuru Peak insight, by now temperatures were way
below freezing and we had limited time before we would have to move back down
the mountain. So despite our bodies craving rest we had to continue. The last
few steps before reaching Uhuru Peak were painful and cold yet exhilarating, we
had done it!! The first group of 12 made it to the top with many more still on
their journey. Although we could not stay long due to the ever dropping
temperatures those few minutes were filled with relief, pride and amazement. We
are immensely proud of all our students; I have never witnessed such
perseverance, compassion and team spirit in a group of young people. Although
the climb back down the mountain and eventually after another tented night,
back to luxury was tough, every child bounded with the sense of achievement
they all deserved. In the end all 20 students and staff made it to Stella Point
and 19 to Uhuru Peak – an amazing feat! It was just a shame we never got to see
the man who doubted our abilities. Through sponsorship and a bake sale we
managed to raise approximately 159,000Kes for our two charities. A huge well
done to all the students who took part, remember you can achieve anything if
you have the belief in yourself! 
Following on from conquering Mount Kilimanjaro Alex whisked me away to the South Coast for a weekend to fulfill another wish off my bucket list!! SKYDIVING! Wow what an experience, it true Kenyan style it took hours to get sorted an in the plane, but once we were all sitting in the plane I coudn't contain my excitement - despite the rather large man sitting on me instead of infront of me! It was finally my turn to jump having watched Alex fall out moments before I was ready- I saton the edge of the plane overlooking a beautiful coastline and was more thanhappy to just fall forwards! After a few twists and turns we finally striaghtened into our free fall, i could not breathe or catch my breath and was slightly concerned that if the free fall continued I would die but fortunately I managed a few sips of oxygen before my instructor pulled the parachute! Due to our lack of weight weight we had a slow decent to the beach but that just enabled me to take in the scenary. We had a slight crash landing which despite being on sand was still pretty painful but no broken bones and soon taken over by the feeling of euphoria!!
What more could 2013 offer .... A Proposal maybe??!?!? What a lucky girl I am following a fantastic year of setting up my own gym school, getting a promotion at work, spending an awesome summer in the UK, climbing Kilimanjaro, throwing myself out of a plane and now I am an engaged woman!!! Following the perfect proposal, dream engagement ring and fantastic future husband! It's safe to say 2013 will be a difficult year to top! Here's to wedding planning, fulfilling more of the bucket list and continued happiness, fun and love! 
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