Jill shares why she and her son Ahron climbed Kilimanjaro for Natasha's Foundation

With my son Ahron by my side, I climbed Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

“We held our banner high, we had brought Natasha’s name to the highest point in Africa for the world to see.”

I turned 60 last October and my children decided it was finally time for me to climb Kilimanjaro. Over the years I had dreamed about this trip but for one reason or another never actually booked it.  So here I was, finally about to embark on my dream.  I wanted to make this the ultimate climb and raise money for ‘The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation’.  

Both my daughter Sara and I have food allergies and we have had many frightening allergic experiences. The work this Foundation has done thanks to Tanya and Nadim has had a massive impact on us as a family. Raising public awareness and having Natasha’s Law passed means our allergies are now taken seriously rather than dismissed.  

As we increased our training and began fundraising, I became a woman on a mission, I spent more time at the gym, we did weekend hikes, publicised our climb, and finalised our trip. We were overwhelmed at the response we received, people were unbelievably generous. 

Allergies became a ‘buzz word’ and ‘The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation’ rolled off my tongue at every opportunity.  As a family we wanted to get the word out, allergies need to be spoken about not quietly mentioned as an embarrassment.

We finally boarded the plane to Tanzania.  Our group consisted of two other climbers, and we were supported by two guides, a cook and seventeen porters!  The  route took 8 days, trekking through the rainforest in the company of Colobus monkeys, then onto heath and woodlands, and finally to the alpine region, scrambling up steep slopes  and enduring freezing temperatures and thin air. 

The final day arrived sooner than we had imagined, it was time to attempt our final ascent.  Singing with excitement as we set off at midnight, I couldn’t contain myself.

I was actually doing this, with my son by my side and my daughter back home continuing to raise our profile, how much more special could it get?

Well, it turned out - REACHING THE SUMMIT!

Clouds bubbled below us as if we were on a plane, Kenya lay behind us and Tanzania ahead.  As the sun crept up behind us, a second massive mountain now seemed to stretch ahead on the horizon.  A dark giant, larger than I’d ever seen, what was this other mountain?  Slowly it dawned on me, this was the giant shadow of Kilimanjaro and I was standing on the summit.  The roof of Africa, this is the moment I have dreamed of since I was in my twenties. I was euphoric, such a precious journey with so many precious moments along the way.  

We reached Uhuru peak and proudly held our banner high, we have brought Natasha’s name to the highest point in Africa for the world to see.  Allergies must be seen not hidden.

The stars were aligned, there was a reason I had not attempted this climb earlier in my life.  My children would not have been old enough to support me in the way they did and a charity did not exist that meant so much to my family and I.

With my son Ahron by my side, I climbed Kilimanjaro the highest mountain in Africa and raised over £8K for ‘Natasha’s Foundation.’

If you would like to donate, our fundraiser is still open, please follow our link https://narf.enthuse.com/pf/jill-and-ahron-peskin-kilimanjaro-challenge-b832b

All photos belong to Jill Peskin and have been used with permission.