Charity

CATHY Cruse, a 46-year-old mother of four, will climb Africa’s highest peak this year to raise funds for sick kids in Australia and abroad.
The Narre Warren North resident will trek for seven days up the side of Mount Kilimanjaro, passing through a changing landscape of tropical forests, open land, deserts and glaciers, and roughing it in a tent as temperatures dip as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.
“Twenty-five per cent of people don’t make the summit, so we are taking the trek over seven days so we can acclimatise,” she said.
Half of the cash raised from Mrs Cruse’s ascent will go to the Melbourne-based Heart Kids, a charity that supports kids with heart disease, while the other half will go to Sri Lanka’s Foundation of Goodness, which supports disadvantaged communities.
Mrs Cruse has personal connections to both charities. Her husband is Sri Lankan, and the couple know some of the Sri Lankan cricketers involved in the Foundation of Goodness.
She chose Heart Kids because a business partner has a granddaughter with heart disease.
“We’ve only just started fundraising, but we have about $8000,” she said.
Mrs Cruse hopes to raise $50,000 before she begins her climb on 13 July.
It is not the first time Mrs Cruse has pushed herself to the limit; she has also trekked the Kokoda Trail. Next on her “list” is Machu Picchu, in South America.
“Every two years I like to go off and do a bit challenge,” she said.
“Being a mum of four kids, sometimes you need to do something for yourself.”
Anyone wanting to assist Mrs Cruse in her fundraising or make a tax-deductible donation can contact her on cathykilimanjaro@yahoo.com