A NOTTINGHAM firefighter is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to say thank you to a charity that helped his daughter.
Richard Lord, who works at Stockhill fire station, will tackle the challenge in January next year in aid of the Ear Foundation.
His seven-year-old daughter Phoebe was born profoundly deaf and had a cochlear implant when she was just 15 months old.
Richard says: "Phoebe was born on Christmas Day 2004 and we found out that she was deaf at six weeks. The Ear Foundation has been a constant support for the whole family since.
"We had no experience of deafness when Phoebe was born and we are on a long journey of learning and adapting.
"Phoebe is doing amazingly well. She attends mainstream school and has great speech but we never forget that she does not have natural hearing and she still struggles in many environments. As she goes through school and beyond there are always going to be challenges for her.
"The work that the Ear Foundation does is so valuable in supporting deaf children and their families and providing education for professionals that work with children like Phoebe so that they can make the most out of this amazing technology."
He will be joined on the trek by Deborah Hall, director at the National Institute for Health Research's hearing research unit in Nottingham.
Deborah has worked closely with the Ear Foundation team. She said: "I've seen what a difference their work makes."
The summit of Mount Kilimanjaro is 5,895 metres (19,340 feet). It is the highest free standing mountain in the world, the highest point in Africa and approximately five times the height of Ben Nevis, the highest point in Britain.
Mrs Hall has previously trekked the Himalayas. She said: "Kilimanjaro is 479 metres higher than I have ever walked before, which will be an exciting challenge and what better reason for taking on this enormous feat than to raise money for such a good cause?"
The challenge is organised by Destiny of a Child, a charity which supports cochlear implantation for profoundly deaf children and physically disabled children and Aids orphans.
To sponsor Richard or Deborah go to www.justgiving.com/Lordyskiliclimb or www.justgiving.com/ DebHall-supportingTheEarFoundation
