Rugby club coach to carry pack up Kilimanjaro

A COACH from Burton Rugby Club is set to scale Africa’s highest peak to raise funds for charity.

Tony Ballance, who is also director of strategy and regulation at Severn Trent Water, will be putting his best foot forward for international charity WaterAid in March by climbing Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

Mr Ballance, who coaches Burton RFC’s under-16s, is leading a team from Severn Trent Water on a gruelling 10-day trek to the peak of the mountain.

Their goal is to raise more than £25,000 for WaterAid’s work to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene in some of the country’s poorest communities.

He said: “There’s no doubt that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro will be a big challenge, but we’re determined to reach our target of raising £25,000.

“Having clean water and sanitation really makes a difference for communities, giving people better health and helping them take the first steps out of poverty.

“It will be tough, but it’s also a reminder of how lucky we are to have clean water at the turn of a tap.

“The average person in the developing world has just 10 litres of water to use for drinking, washing and cooking each day.”

Nearly half of Tanzanians do not have safe water and a staggering 76 per cent live without basic sanitation, causing diseases which kill around 20,000 children under five each year.

While the average European person uses 200 litres of water each day for drinking, washing and cooking, during the trek Tony will be carrying the water he needs for the day’s climb and will be restricted to one small bucket of water each day to wash with.

Dave Hillyard, head of major partnerships at WaterAid, said: “Staff at Severn Trent Water have been supporting WaterAid’s lifesaving work for 30 years and we’re thrilled that Tony and the team are now taking on the incredible challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds.

“We’d like to thank them for their enthusiasm and dedication and to wish them the very best for their climb.”

Anybody wishing to follow Tony’s challenge or to sponsor the teams can do so by visiting the website http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ STWKili or http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AnthonyBallance