Kilkenny teachers to travel to Kilimanjaro to volunteer with charity

Four kind-hearted local teachers will travel to Kilimanjaro later this summer to volunteer with a charity that was founded by a Kilkenny woman.

Nicola Brennan, Kevin Cleary, Teresa Daly and John McDonald will all travel to Kilimanjaro for two weeks in August and will bring school supplies along with funds raised which will be used toimprove cooking facilities in the school’s kitchen and to develop a pitch and play area,

Nicola and Kevin are still both teaching at the Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny while Teresa and John have retired in recent years.

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Sheila Ryan founded Kilimanjaro Direct over 14 years ago after being deeply moved by the plight of children living in the area and their lack of access to decent education. The charity provides food and education for almost 300 impoverished children and they have also built homes for a number of local families. Currently work is ongoing on developed a pitch and play area for the children at the school and fundraising is ongoing.

This Thursday (July 6) a fundraising table quiz in aid of Kilimanjaro Direct will take place at 8pm in Cleere's Bar at 8pm

“The four of us travelling to the school are funding our own flights, accommodation and other expenses. We need you , however, to help us in raising money for this amazing organisation which we will personally deliver to Tanzania. This will help to pay teachers' wages, buy school books, pay for meals for the students and so much more,” explained Nicola.

A teacher for 41 years at the Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny, Sheila knows first hand the transformational impact education has on the lives of young people. After a holiday in 2005 Sheila witnessed first hand the desperate living conditions of some people, many of them children living in mud huts with no access to a decent education.

Fast forward two years and the charity, Kilimanjaro Direct, was born. Since then a school, the Liberty English Medium Primary School, has been set up and 14 homes have been built. The charity relies mainly on voluntary donations and over the years the people of Kilkenny have been incredible in supporting the cause. Sheila, who moved full time to Tanzania three years ago, said she is very grateful to people for their support and donations.

“We are delighted to have volunteers over and we would be really delighted for any fundraising that anyone does.

“At the moment we are doing our new pitch so the kids will have an area to play in. We really need a lot of help and support so we want to thank everyone for their help and support,” said Shelia.

According to the charity’s website the ethos of the charity is that 100% of all donations go directly to the running of the school and no monies is taken for expenses or administration fees. Everybody involved in the charity pays their own expenses.
People can donate through the website or set up a direct debit with the charity’s bank account at Permanent TSB on High Street in Kilkenny.
To find out more about the Presentation teachers upcoming trip see their go fund me page From Loughboy to Kilimanjaro Direct
kilimanjarodirect.net

or administration fees. Everybody involved in the charity pays their own expenses.