Pendle dad scales heights for African charity (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Pendle dad scales heights for African charity

1:30pm Friday 10th August 2012 in Nelson By Jonathon Dillon, Assistant news editor

A PENDLE dad is set to climb the world's tallest freestanding mountain to help provide an African community with clean water.

Kazim Khan, 38, of Dunderdale Avenue, Nelson, will lead a team of intrepid adventurers to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, to support the charity Dig Deep.

The call centre manager is part of a six-strong team who will set off on their charity mission on August 22 after they initially raised £15,000 with more sponsorship money still to come. The team have paid their own expenses for the five-day hike up the 20,000-foot mountain.

The charity works in partnership with a great many communities in East Africa in a bid to help improve access to clean water, sanitation and renewable energy. It helps communities to drill wellsand access renewable technologies so that they are better able to overcome the challenges they face Kazim, who has a daughter Zahrah, 12, said: "I've always wanted to do something like this. I have done other things to help in Pakistan but nothing like this before.

"We've been up all the biggest mountains in the UK; Snowdon, Scarfell, Ben Nevis. We also did the three peak challenge and have continued our training in the gym.

"The charity builds wells in places like Kenya and then hand it over to the communities to run it so it gives them a sense of ownership.

"They also make usable gas by putting manure and waste in a pit."

The other team members are Richard Quinn, Damien Collard, Soyf Alam, Aaron Nicholas and Alexander Goldwater, who is from Helmshore.

Fundraising events for the challenge have included a charity dinner held in Manchester, where a signed boxing glove from Amir Khan was auctioned off, bag packing in a superstore and online donations.

To sponsor Kazim, visit www.justgiving.com/Kazim-Khan