A Troon local is raising money for a sponsored climb up one of Africa’s largest mountains.

Arelette Priestley, 47, plans to raise £4550, a pound for every metre of the challenge which rises to 4550 metres.

If this is successful, employers GSK will double the total – allowing a fantastic contribution to Save the Children, a charity to help child poverty. With a number of fundraising events coming up, she is looking for support from Troon and the local community.

Arelette will hike Ras Dashen, the highest mountain in Ethiopia in March 2019. The trek is 75 kilometres distance and will take six to ten hours per day to walk, which will be done over seven days.

Trekforkids is part of GSK’s Orange United, where employees can get involved to support fund raising for their Global Partnership with Save The Children. This partnership aims to help save one million children’s lives.

Arelette has already began fundraising but is pushing hard to reach her target and help the charity which to date, worldwide has trained over 20,000 health workers, fully immunised 97,600 children and treated over 187,000 children for pneumonia, malaria or diarrhoea since 2013.

This climb is also part of Arelette’s personal lifetime ambition to raise £100,000 for three charities: Save The Children; Sense Scotland; and MacMillan Cancer Care.

She said: “I have been overwhelmed by the generous support that I have received so far, and I would like to personally thank family, friends, work colleagues and local businesses for their generosity, which has already raised more than £1000.

“In Ethiopia 184,000 children under five die, mostly due to preventable and treatable causes such as pneumonia or diarrhoea.

“We know that immunisation is one of the most successful health interventions, preventing the death of millions of children every year. Yet in Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia, there are huge inequalities which determine whether children and their families receive the vaccinations that they need to live happy and heathier lives.

“This includes: shortages in trained health workers, a lack of vaccinations available, and difficulties in accessing the most remote communities.”

Arelette is organising a number of events to help her fundraising, starting with a Motown tribute night on Friday October 12 at GSK’s Sport and Social Club in Irvine. Tickets are £20 which includes entry, live music and hot buffet.

She added: “£25 could pay for a series of life-saving medical vaccinations for three children including Measles, Tuberculosis, Polio, and Hepatitis B.

“£5 could pay for a measles vaccination for two children caught up in an emergency.

“Every pound raised makes a difference to the lives of children, and every pound raised will be matched by GSK. Please help in anyway you can”.

If you would like to purchase tickets or make a raffle donation, please contact Arelette directly on 07788387374. Direct donations can be made to Arelette’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/arelette-priestley