A nursery manager who suffered from an aggressive form of breast cancer has completed a seven-day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro for a children’s charity.

Gemma Hirons, who manages Bright Horizons St Mary’s Day Nursery and Preschool in Abingdon, has so far raised £3,898 for the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, which supports children in crisis.

Oxford Mail: Gemma Hirons at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro

The challenge began on Sunday, August 27 and was completed on Saturday, September 2, during which time Ms Hirons climbed approximately 6,000 metres in total.

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Her journey began as part of a private trek, where on the Saturday afternoon she climbed from Londrossi Gate to Mti Mkumbwa Camp.

The next six days consisted of Gemma climbing to Shira Camp (11,500ft), Shira Hut (13,720ft), Lava Tower (15,700ft) and then down to Barranco Camp (13,500ft), and Karanga Camp (13,000ft).

Ms Hirons said: “Taking on these challenges have been both extremely difficult and an exhilarating experience.

"It was so exciting to visit this beautiful country, but also to really challenge myself to reach the summit of the world’s highest freestanding mountain.

“I wanted to do something that would be a memorable experience and would raise as much money as possible for a charity that I care a lot about.”

She finally reached the summit of Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet on Friday, September 1 before taking a seven kilometre walk down to Mweka Camp, resulting in a day of an estimated 16 hours of hiking in total.

Her mammoth climb up the highest mountain in Africa was completed on Saturday, September 2 where Ms Hirons took on the 10km walk to Mweka Gate and then to Moshi at 5,300ft.

Completing her trek up Mount Kilimanjaro is just one of the impressive activities Ms Hirons has taken part in.

She also took on the Three Peaks Challenge this year where she climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Mount Snowdon in July which she also did to raise money for the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.

The foundation helps to create ‘bright spaces’, which are safe, warm, and nurturing play areas, specially designed to bring joy and a sense of normality to children facing extremely difficult situations.

They can be found in domestic abuse refuges, homeless shelters, prisons, and police stations throughout the UK.

Ms Hirons wanted to take on these extreme challenges after having experienced a difficult past six years where she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2016.

After undergoing intense treatment for 12 months, she was finally given the all clear.

She then received the news her dad had been diagnosed with a high-grade throat cancer in 2021 which had an impact on herself and her family.

He is celebrating being in remission for two years. Then in March 2022 Ms Hirons' best friend, Andy, was killed in an accident.

To donate to her challenge, you can visit her Just Giving page.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1