Edinburgh schoolboy summits Kilimanjaro for Mary's Meals
Lochlan McCole, 14, scaled the world’s highest free-standing mountain to help us feed hungry children
An Edinburgh schoolboy has completed the awe-inspiring feat of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to help feed hungry children.
When Stewart's Melville College pupil Lochlan McCole learnt about Mary’s Meals in class, he was determined to do something extraordinary to raise money for the school feeding charity, and the idea to climb Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest free-standing mountain, was born.
Lochlan, 14, says: “I learnt about Mary’s Meals from my Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies teacher Mr Park. He goes to Malawi quite a lot and he taught us about the charity. It’s great to know more about the charity and Mary’s Meals are doing some really good work. The children they support have been dealt a really tough hand in life and I thought that any help we can give to them means a lot, it goes a long way, so I wanted to do my bit.”
For many adults, climbing 5,895-metre-high Kilimanjaro would be a real gruelling task, but cool-headed teenager Lochlan, who has so far raised more than £1,000, kept going throughout the six-day challenge.
He says: “It was not too hard until the summit day when we had to wake up at 11pm to walk in the dark! But the actual walking was ok, my legs weren’t too tired. It went down to -12°C at the top, that was probably the toughest part.
“Raising money for charity was a really good motivation. We’d raised a lot of money before the climb, and I felt like we would have let people down if I hadn’t got to the top, so that was a good motivation to keep going.”
Lochlan was joined on the climb by mum, Selina, dad, Derek, and brother, Luke, 16. Selina says: “I’m super proud of him! He’s just 14, and he showed such mental toughness to do it. You need to dig really deep. It’s a big ask and I’m so proud of him and his brother.”
Sally Davidson, Supporter Engagement Officer for East Scotland at Mary’s Meals says: “When I heard that Lochlan was planning to climb Kilimanjaro for Mary’s Meals, I was in awe, so you can imagine how impressed and thankful I was when I heard that he’d successfully summitted the mountain and raised £1,000, enough to feed 52 children for a whole year!
“This is such a brilliant challenge, and a great way to celebrate reaching the milestone of feeding 3 million children every school day. Anyone can fundraise for Mary’s Meals, whether you’re keen to take on Kilimanjaro or do something a little easier and closer to home, the opportunities are endless! It costs just 10p per meal to feed a child with Mary’s Meals, so any money raised goes so far.”
To donate to Lochlan’s fundraiser, please click here.
