James Strawhorn Walks for Nandom
In October 2010 I was given the sensational opportunity of
volunteering in Ghana with the FREED UK Ghana Charity.
FREED UK is a charity that supports the deprived community of Nandom in
the
upper west region of Ghana. The group strives to support the
provision of healthcare and education in partnership with FREED in Ghana.
They believe that healthcare and education should be accessible to
everyone including the very poor and disadvantaged. All the projects aim
to give sustained commitment to help this community of Ghana.
The trip was such an amazing and rewarding experience for me
especially working at Ko School, located close to the town of Nandom. I
had the extremely i
mportant task of coaching the football crazed
children of Ko village. To have an opportunity to contribute in some
small way to the lives and the happiness of the children made it so
worthwhile. I was made to feel so welcome and just by making the effort
to help the people in Ko and Nandom I was making a difference. I was so
humbled by my experiences there and I know I am
capable of doing so much more to help. I am therefore prepared to
challenge myself further in order to raise much needed funds for the
charity’s projects for 2011;
- The new bore hole we saw finished for the Ko community during our
visit last October could also
provide water to the local Ko School.
Further funds need to be raised to purchase solar panels which would
provide energy for a pump to be installed in order to send water along a
pipe to Ko school approximately 1 mile away. This will allow all the
children at the school to have access to vital fresh and clean drinking
water. - In addition to this and as the bore hole has strong pressure, we are looking to construct an irrigation system for the 400 acres of farmland in the area.
I would like to raise a minimum of £2,500 for FREED UK by
trekking 65 miles across Greenland! The trek will be
self funded and all
the money raised will go to the charity. The people of Ghana really do
need your help so please do not hesitate to donate. Every single penny
is so much appreciated! You can help put a smile on these children’s
faces. Please donate now by visiting:-
www.justgiving.com/james-strawhorn-greenlandtrek
The Greenland Trek Challenge Begins 12th August 2011
This is a trekking expedition to a remote area and thus the inherent risks of such an activity exist. The trek will involve strenuous walking carrying relatively heavy loads for an extended period of time. The hike will take me over South East Greenland’s roughest terrain, enduring harsh and ever changeable climatic conditions and I will have to make tough river crossings and scramble up steep ridges along the way.
The journey begins from Kulusuk where I will make my way to the
village harbour to meet the boat that will take me northwards through
the fjords to the start of the trek. I understand it will be a
spectacular journey, weaving between icebergs, passing countless rocky
islands and towering peaks that rear up out of the sea. I will
pass the small settlement of Kuummiut on the way; the last speck of
habitation for hundreds of miles along this wild coast. The fjords
become narrower and the mountains higher, until I arrive and disembark
at the head of a beautiful sheltered fjord. I will move a little
way up the valley before pitching camp for the first night in the
unfamiliar wilderness where my trek will begin.
The first part of my journey begins from
Tasiilaq Fjord to
Ningerti. The first few days of the trek shall be spent moving up a
beautiful valley. This is a wide green valley floor strewn
with boulders and moraines with towering ridges on each side. A
series of glaciers tumble down from hanging valleys high above, carving
out smooth walls of rock hundreds of metres high. The first two
days shall take me to the upper reaches of the Sermilik Fjord.
There are several rivers and streams running across the valley floor on
this part of the trek, and I will have to make a few difficult river
crossings, as well as crossing areas of moraine.
The next stage begins along the shores of Sermilik Fjord. The
scale of Sermilik Fjord will be breathtaking. It is at least 15km
wide, and surrounded by glaciers and mountains on all sides. Just
beyond the western shore, Greenland’s inland icecap rears up; blanketing
the mountains beneath a thick white sheet. A great number of
glaciers flow into this fjord, meaning that its waters are often almost
choked with icebergs. I shall head southeast along the
coast. This is the most difficult part of the trek, over headlands
and inlets and there is one point where about 50m of fjord must be
forded below a glacier.
The journey from Ilivnera to Sapulik will have me continuing
along the shores of Sermilik Fjord. Along the way I will pass the
sites of old settlements; all vacant aside from a hunter’s hut in one of
them. There are a couple of tricky river crossings to be made
along this part of the route.
Onward to Amitsivartiva Fjord by heading south, and inland, I
will be trekking through a wide valley and alongside a large lake that
teems with Arctic Char.
Amitsivartiva Fjord is a remarkable
feature – only a couple of hundred metres wide; it stretches for several
kilometres inland through the mountains. The views down this
narrow waterway to the icebergs and peaks beyond will be stunning and I
shall be making camp here.
Picking a route southwards from camp, I will ascend a ridge that sweeps southwest towards the small village of Tiniteqilaaq. Striding along this ridge I will have spectacular views in all directions up and down fjords and across countless mountains and glaciers. Tiniteqilaaq is a small hunters' settlement that has a few amenities and I will camp on the edge of the village.
Boat rendezvous and return to Kulusuk. I will break camp for the last time and pack all of the equipment, ready to meet the boat for the journey back to Kulusuk where the journey comes to an end. A location map is shown above showing the 65 mile route:
This will be a challenging route and I look forward to the adventure and raising funds for such a worthy cause. Please show your support and sponsor me on this trek. Just go to:
http://www.justgiving.com/james-strawhorn-GreenlandTrek
and give what you can for the incredible people of Ghana.
Contact me; email:james.strawhorn@nps.co.uk