Sum'mit fantastic

14/06/2005

One hundred water workers kicked off their walking boots feeling extremely proud knowing they have saved lives.

Northumbrian Water employees survived to tell the tale of their huge achievement for charity after all reaching the top of their chosen peak as part of WaterAid’s Munro Challenge at the weekend.

Forty-six peaks were summitted by Northumbrian Water charity climbers in the Torridon area of Scotland.  Hundreds of thousands of feet were climbed which will save more than 60,000 lives.

WaterAid had a sponsored team on the summit of all 303 peaks of the challenge – 284 Munros in Scotland and 19 mountains in England, Wales and Ireland – all over 3,000 feet.

Christine Gibson, participant and Customer Advisor at Northumbrian Water from Forest Hall, Newcastle, said: “This was the most frightening experiencing of my life!  The peak I climbed involved walking along a ledge with a shear drop to one side of it, this wasn’t what I had imagined I would be experiencing.  The fear was unbelievable but I knew I couldn’t turn back, I had to keep going.

“Once I had reached the other side of the ledge I could breathe again although it took some time to recover.  I can now look back and realise the achievement I have accomplished, both a personal achievement and an achievement for WaterAid.”

WaterAid is Northumbrian Water’s adopted international charity which provides safe water, sanitation and hygiene education for people in Africa and Asia.

John Mowbray, participant and Chairman of WaterAid Northumbria, said:  “The feelings and emotions I experienced during the challenge were extreme.  The sense of achievement in reaching the top of the peak was indescribable after the exertion of the continuous climb and endless drain on energy.

“The conditions were almost perfect for walking however the rough terrain under foot was challenging.  We kept reminding ourselves it costs just £15 to provide a child in Africa or Asia with clean water, sanitation and hygiene education for life.  One of these children dies every 15 seconds from a water-related illness.

“The next step is to ensure all the sponsor money is collected, hopefully reaching this year’s target of £300,000 which will take the total of money raised on all four Munro Challenges to more than £1m.”

For further information please contact Joanne Dye on 0191 301 6733.