Summit special about Shropshire charity worker's Kilimanjaro challenge
A Shropshire play leader has gone to new heights to raise money for the charity she works for - by scaling Mount Kilimanjaro.
Eva Holt from Hopesay, near Craven Arms, climbed to the summit of Africa's highest mountain to support the Leominster-based Marches Family Network (MFN), where she has worked for two years after starting as a volunteer.
The 26-year-old took on the challenge in support of the work the charity does with children with disabilities from South Shropshire and Herefordshire and their families.
The epic challenge came just months after she trekked 500 miles across Spain on the famous pilgrimage trail Camino de Santiago.
It was after returning home that Eva set her sights set on an even bolder expedition - to scale snow-capped Kilimanjaro which, at 4,895 metres, is four times higher than Ben Nevis.
The trek involved six nights under canvas and enduring the extremes of heat, cold and rain. Altitude sickness and frostbite were among the problems experienced by some walkers, who had to be taken off the mountain on stretchers.
Eva was thankful that she coped without too much difficulty and said the views from the top were well worth the nosebleed she got from the altitude.
"It was just incredible. Everything about it was absolutely amazing, the guides and the people I met, as well as the atmosphere. It was a tough thing to do but totally worth it.
"I live in the South Shropshire hills and I walk a lot – it really helps on a journey like that if walking is a big part of your life. And walking across Spain on the Camino was great preparation.
"Once I had been home for a while I was getting that itchy feet feeling, and wanting to go away again."
Raising money for MFN means Eva gets to see first hand how people will benefit from the sponsorship she gathers. She is still accepting donations on justgiving.com
"I could have chosen many different charities but I wanted to make sure I knew where the money was going and what it was going to be spent on," said Eva.
"I love the work I do. I'm raising funds so we can provide the best possible programme for the kids – more great trips, more activities.
"I know the parents and carers in the families we support really appreciate the bit of free time we enable them to have."
