The St Marks Mariakani Visit & Kilimanjaro Challenge

Challenge Information

In May/June 2017, St Mark’s Battersea Rise is heading back to our church-to-church partner, Mariakani Baptist Church. Mariakani is a host church to a Compassion project, helping to educate, nourish, and spiritually care for children. St Mark’s members now sponsor well over 100 of these children. More information about our amazing 2013 trip can be found here.

The  Mariakani Visit & Kilimanjaro Challenge

We want to make our second team visit to Mariakani as accessible to the entire St Marks community as possible - and we are therefore offering two chances to take part - all scheduled to take part over May Half-Term:

1. The Mariakani Mission Team (May 25th - June 2nd)

2. The Mariakani & Kilimanjaro Challenge Team (May 25st - June 6th)

All team members will depart on Thursday 25th May 2017 on a flight to Nairobi where you will stay overnight, before taking a connecting flight to Mombasa the following morning. Friday will offer a day to relax and recover at the beach and hotel after a long journey. We will then all spend a very special two days on Saturday and Sunday with our church-to-church partner, Mariakani Baptist Church. This will be a chance for our team members representing St Marks to see the difference we are able to make through Compassion, and really get a chance to know the people and children who make this such an important project and one that is making a difference to us at St Marks too.

The Mission Team will spend three additional days at Mariakani helping to serve the Church and local community - from Monday 29th May through to Wednesday 31st May - returning home the following day and arriving back into the UK on the morning of Friday 2nd June. The precise nature of the activities is yet to be confirmed but this really will be an opportunity to engage with and be part of our extended St Marks community at Mariakani.

The Kilimanjaro Challenge Team will leave Mombasa on Monday 29th May on a long drive aross the border into Tanzania and to a small, picturesque village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro called Marangu - beginning the trek the following day. At 5,895m (19,341ft), Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, the fourth highest of the world’s Seven Summits, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The six-day expedition will take the team on the Rongai route to Kilimanjaro’s famous summit, allowing fantastic opportunities for acclimatisation and the chance to experience the dramatic Mawenzi peak and stunning Saddle en-route. They will take on the demanding ascent to the summit prior to returning to their hotel a day later. The team will then return to Nairobi on Monday 5th June to catch their return flight to the UK - arriving back on Tuesday 6th June.

Who benefits?

Those fundraising will be doing so in order to raise money for a Compassion RESPOND Initiative designed to strengthen the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS specifically in the Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara regions of Tanzania by increasing HIV testing and counselling (HTC) for early diagnosis, promoting behavioural change through enhanced knowledge and improving access to affordable care and treatment. 

 Trip Costs and Fundraising

Final costs are yet to finalised but indicative outlines are as follows:

1. The Mariakani Mission Team: £1,800

2. The Mariakani & Kilimanjaro Challenge Team: £3,250

You will need to pay a deposit of £500 when you sign up, and have met the trip-cost balance two months before the date of departure. Payments can be made in installments to spread the cost over time.

In addition to trip costs, Kilimanjaro Challenge team members will be given a fundraising target of £1,200 to directly support Compassion’s RESPOND Initiative. You should look at this as the minimum - we will give you lots of fundraising ideas, and every additional pound you raise will also go towards support for Compassion. To make reaching your target even more achievable, we'll add £300 to your fundraising total every time you're able to get a child sponsored for Compassion!

Please Note: Compassion UK require that each person visiting will need to have a police check or a Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly Criminal Records Bureau) check that was carried out within two years at the time of your visit. If you already have one, you should send a photocopy of it. If not, you can apply for a basic disclosure from Disclosure Scotland. This service is available to all residents of the UK.

For full Terms & Conditions click here.

The Mariakani Mission Team: BOOK HERE

The Mariakani & Kilimanjaro Challenge Team: BOOK HERE