The London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children and a Tanzanian orphanage were the beneficiaries of the ambitious fundraising effort by the cabbies. Daren Parr and John Dillane, two London taxi drivers, first traveled to Tanzania with filmmaker Tim King to climb Mount Meru. Subsequently, they were joined by six other cab drivers to attempt to climb Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.
Daren Parr, a London cab driver, said:
“Mount Meru was undoubtedly harder than we had anticipated. The weather was terrible while we were ascending. Kilimanjaro was a distinct peak from Mount Meru, which we had scaled in 2019.
I can honestly say that I have never been more terrified in my entire life as when we were at one point pelted by torrential rain while hanging to chains with a deep drop at our side.
The cab drivers had just one night of luxury in a hotel bed after reaching the peak of Meru before beginning their seven-day ascent of Kilimanjaro. Cab drivers Lyndsey, Bob, Gary, Sarah, Stuart, and Stella joined them on this ascent. Despite suffering from altitude sickness, all but one of the brave taxi drivers made it to the top with the help of their experienced guide Jonas and a group of twenty porters.
John Dillane, a cab driver in London, said:
As we embarked on the six-day Machame route to Uhuru peak, the arrival of the remainder of the crew gave our weary bodies and spirits a big boost. On Kili summit night, I disregarded any notions of acclimatization from the Meru climb because of how poorly my body responded above 5000 meters. I toiled up like a boxer with no legs for the final 2.5 hours, which was agonizing.
Daren and John are back in their taxis in England after finishing the assignment, while their comrades are on safari and spending some time at the beach in Zanzibar.
London taxi drivers’ charity for children chairman Michael Son said:
“The Cabbies do Kilimanjaro crew has our utmost admiration. We are very grateful that they chose our charity to help special needs and underprivileged kids. They have raised much-needed funds.
The London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children and the Uhuru Orphanage in Tanzania will benefit from funds earned through the Cabbies Do Kilimanjaro 2022 challenge to climb Meru and Kilimanjaro.
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