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What is Parkinson's and my motivation?

Parkinson’ is a condition of the brain that affects mobility of the body. The main symptoms are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement but can also cause rigidity, pain, depression and constipation.

I lost my grandfather last November. He had Parkinson's for over 10 years and suffered from all of the above symptoms, more debilitating in advanced stages. Following his demise, I was determined to do my little to contribute towards research and public awareness of this perplexing brain condition.

There's currently no cure and very little is known about why people get the condition. Parkinson's doesn't directly cause people to die, but symptoms get worse over time that even simple daily functions become a chore and it becomes very difficult to live independently without help and care from somebody else.

Why Kilimanjaro?

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895m (19,341 feet) above sea level. It is often underestimated because it is a non technical climb (no ropes, no ice axes) but the extremely high elevation, low temperature, and occasional high winds make this a very difficult and challenging trek. Despite the increasing popularity among tourists, official park records show that only 41% of trekkers actually reach the summit with the majority turning around at 200 to 500m short of the peak.

Although I have done a fair bit of mountain walks in Scotland, Kilimanjaro calls for a whole new level of physical and mental stamina that I have never committed to before. I believe Kilimanjaro aptly justifies my cause because both Parkinson’s and the climb (to a much smaller degree) involve significant physically hardship that can be only tackled with strong will power.

However, my challenge will not be restricted to only Kilimanjaro. I will also be doing the 3 peaks challenge of climbing the highest peaks in England (Scafell Pike, 978m); Scotland (Ben Nevis, 1344m) and Wales (Snowdon, 1085m) before and after Kilimanjaro, depending on local weather conditions.

Why Parkinson's UK?

Parkinson’s UK is one of the world’s foremost organizations focused on funding medical research and support care for Parkinson’s. The organization has invested over $100million so far in research to understand causes, improve treatment and push search for cure to a new level. However, involvement goes beyond mere research to provide care for existing patients, network to bring affected families together, public awareness campaigns and lobbying UK and European governments for policies that would give Parkinson’s the attention it deserves.

How do you contribute?

I would be very grateful if you could contribute to the cause of Parkinson’s by supporting my charity in any of the following ways:

1. Donations using FundRazr (above). You can donate using a credit/debit card in any currency even if you do not have a Paypal account. Simply select pay as guest option on PayPal page.
2. If you prefer, Donations in British Pounds or Indian Rupee directly to bank account to maximise your donation by avoiding credit card transaction fees. Please click here for bank account details if you prefer this option.

Any donations in rupee or other currencies would be converted to £ at the prevailing rate. Every £ would be matched by BP Foundation and every £ from a UK taxpayer would be additionally matched by 25p using HMRC’s Gift Aid Tax rule. These matching contributions would be on top of my fundraising target.

2.  Shopping online: Irrespective of if you chose to donate, you can also contribute in a small way for free when shopping online with over 2000 popular UK retailers, including Argos, M&S, John Lewis, Debenhams, HMV, Vodafone, The Body Shop, and many more at http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/scalingthesummitforparkinsons

3. Spreading the word:  Irrespective of if you chose to contribute by any of ways above, I'd appreciate if you could share this page with people who you think are close to this cause. Thank you!

I will pay for my own flights, equipments and other transport/accommodation during my stay in Tanzania. There is a national park conservation fee of $800 and salaries for the local porters, chef and mountain guide (~$400). If I reach my target, I intend to deduct the above $1200 fees from the total money raised (including matched funds) and the remaining will directly go to Parkinson’s UK. If I haven’t reached my target, then 70% of the raised money will go to Parkinson’s UK and rest used to cover part of the park fees.