Athlone woman ready to begin seven-day Kilimanjaro climb

An Athlone woman and her partner, both members of the Defence Forces, are hoping their military training will stand to them when they depart this weekend to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity.

Army Sergeant Lavinia Connell, from Glynwood, Athlone, and her partner, Company Sergeant Jason Hassett, from Boherlahan, Tipperary, will be setting off for Tanzania on Saturday.

There they will be embarking on a seven-day climb of Africa's peak, which is also the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.

Lavinia is taking on the challenge in memory of her brother, John, who died tragically after a motorcycle accident in 2005.

She is currently raising funds for the Irish Kidney Foundation, and on her Facebook fundraising page (which can be found here) she is more than three-quarters of the way towards her goal of generating €2,000 for the charity.

Lavinia works in the Medical Corps at Custume Barracks, Athlone, while Jason is a Company Sergeant in the Transport Corps at The Curragh.

During their climb in Africa, they expect to venture through four climatic zones from rainforest to moorlands, Alpine desert and, in their final ascent, Arctic conditions.

"Through our Army training we have built up a good level of physical and emotional strength. We hope this will stand to us in Tanzania as we face unfamiliar and diverse terrain and the high altitude of Mount Kilimanjaro," said Lavinia.

"It's a comfort for us to know that we will have local guides, organised through travel company Earth's Edge, who will help us navigate the territory of Mount Kilimanjaro. We are looking forward to our twelve-day expedition which will include seven days on the mountain.

"I am so grateful to Jason for agreeing to do the climb with me. He is the best! I hope that by doing this climb we can increase organ donor awareness and encourage more people to carry the organ donor card while also raising funds for the Irish Kidney Association.

"I cannot speak highly enough of the organ donor coordinator that supported our family and gave us the reassurance we needed at a very difficult time after John's tragic accident."

She said that, as she and Jason set off on the climb, she would be carrying a photo of John with her to the summit, along with an organ donor card, and the Irish Kidney Association's forget-me-not flower emblem.

Since John's passing, the Connell family has attended the Irish Kidney Association's annual Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving, for organ donors and transplant recipients.

The 37th Annual Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving will be broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 at 11am on Sunday, October 30.