Five years ago the state of Gujarat was devastated by an earthquake measuring 6.7. 20,000 people lost their lives and around 1,000 classroom were destroyed. | "I was looking for a cause which I could help when I do the climb, then I saw what the Rushey Mead Foundation were doing..." | | Mark Perkins from Leicestershire |
Now a Leicestershire mountaineer, Mark Perkins is going out to the Andes to climb Mt Aconcagua, one of the big seven summits of the world leaving on 26 January 2006 which is also the fifth anniversary of the Gujarat earthquake. The trip is intended to raise money for the Rushey Mead Foundation, a Leicester based charity formed after the earthquake. In 2004 the charity started Rushey Mead School, as its linked to the Leicester school, in a rented building in a village called Nagore near Bhuj, Gujarat.  | | Bhuj after the earthquake |
The charity has finally been given some land by the state authorities for the school building and construction is expected to start in January 2006. Aconcagua is the world's highest trekking peak at 22,830ft, 6,959 metres. It is the second highest of the seven continents summits of the world after Everest. It is the highest point in the Western and Southern hemisphere, towering above the surrounding peaks in the Argentine Andes. The mountain stands on the border with Chile. Mark Perkins from the Standards and Effectiveness Division within Education in the Leicester City Council will be attempting to climb Mt Aconcagua with a small team from 26th January 2006. "I was looking for a cause which I could help when I do the climb, then I saw what the Rushey Mead Foundation were doing and I met some of the students at Rushey Mead School.  | | Rushey Mead School classroom |
As I work in the education department its nice to link it to the schools in Leicester." His previous experience includes climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya and being on expeditions in other parts of the world. Leicester City Council has set up a website in order to get children interested in outdoor pursuit and they can also track his ascent up the mountain as he will be keeping in touch by using a satellite phone. Click here to track Marks progress:
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