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CHARITY champion Junaid Jaffar is banking on a strict training regime to help him conquer one of the world's toughest climbing challenges.
The Bahrain-based investment professional is preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in an effort to raise funds for needy children.
Junaid, 40, will be part of a 19-strong group travelling from different corners of the world to climb the African summit in support of The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a charity dedicated to providing formal education to underprivileged youngsters in Pakistan.
The group is meeting in Doha in mid October from there they will proceed to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania to undertake their six day trek on Africa's highest mountain.
"I had never planned to do the trek. As a member of Friends of The Citizens Foundation I received an email in April about the fundraising climb to Kilimanjaro but did not pay much attention to it and thought that like every year I would transfer my donation into TCF's account. But my friends living in Singapore decided to take up the challenge and convinced me to do likewise," said the Saar resident and father of two boys, Ayaan (5) and Faris (3).
"But, now as the time draws closer and all of us are actively training for it I am quite excited about the trip.
"My family and friends are being very supportive and are contributing for TCF on my webpage. Although I have set a personal goal and am quite focused on achieving it. My main motivation is I will be raising awareness and far more money for TCF than I normally would have been able to."
The demanding trek up Mount Kilimanjaro will be no mean feat and the group will complete 60 kilometres in six days starting at Machame base camp at the height of 1773 metres climbing up to 5896 metres to reach the top.
Fitness is obviously a prerequisite but altitude sickness is an unknown assailant that can strike the fittest and prevent the individual from reaching the top.
"We have been advised that if someone falls back due to altitude sickness or whatever reason they will not hold the other group members back. It is a very well planned trek," said Junaid who regularly dons his hiking boots and his backpack weighing 15 kg and walks on a treadmill set on an incline in his gym.
Junaid, who works Tadhamon Capital, is following in the footsteps of many big-hearted fund-raisers to climb Kilimanjaro for charity.
Recently former Radio Bahrain news reader Nadia Swan and Bahraini resident Raj Damani have featured in GulfWeekly highlighting their charitable endeavours.
"It is a daunting journey given the harsh climatic conditions and the physical challenge. On one day we will be walking for 18 hours and I'm hoping that I will pull through. The highest I have travelled is the Khunjraab Pass at 4,267 metres near the Karakoram highway that connects Pakistan and China. I am looking forward to experiencing being close to nature and seeing the African wildlife. I think I will come back with great memories and will have exciting anecdotes to tell my friends and family in Bahrain."
To contribute to Junaid's fundraising efforts follow the link: https://www.justgiving.com/JunaidJafar/
