Two brothers from Perth have climbed the world’s tallest free standing mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, for a mental health charity in memory of their childhood best friend.
Andrew, 25, and Callum Donaldson,21, embarked on the challenge to raise money for the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) in memory of Andrew’s childhood best friend Sean Wallace who took his own life in 2012.
The duo raised £2,500 by taking on the four day ascent to the African mountain top as they battled the effects of high altitude to reach the summit of Uhuru Peak.
Andrew said: “I have recently returned from Africa after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise money for SAMH in memory of my friend Sean who sadly took his own life.
“Every year my friends and his family have a football tournament or a golf outing to raise money for SAMH but this year I wanted to something a little bit extra and different.
“It was by far the most physically and mentally demanding challenge I have ever completed.
“With the amount of support and donations behind me, failure was never an option.
“We are both very grateful for all the support and everyone’s kind donations.”
The brothers had set themselves an original target of £500 but said this was “blown out of the water” after generous donations from friends, family and colleagues.
The brothers were also helped in their fundraising venture by Perth businesses including Franktul Marketing and McLeod Glaziers .
Derek Petterson, of McLeod Glaziers, said: “Having served in the Armed Forces myself, unfortunately I also know first-hand the effects that stress, PTSD and poor mental health can have on someone so any funds and awareness which can be brought to tackle this simply has to be applauded.”
Stephen Gorton, Andrew’s manager at Fraktul Marketing, said: “We are very glad to have Andrew back safely and we are absolutely delighted that Andrew and Callum successfully completed their challenge and raised an impressive amount of money for SAMH.”
Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the world’s highest free-standing mountain at 5,895 metres above sea level.
