Megan Hill has been nominated for the Young Citizen Award as she prepares to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

Young Citizen nominee is hitting the heights to help needy children

by Alistair Kleebauer, Senior reporter Thursday, March 14, 2013
12:10 PM

Our first Young Citizen nominee of the year hopes that on July 8 she is looking out across clouds, mountains and the African landscape from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

How to nominate

The Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Club Young Citizen Award aims to find people aged 25 and under who deserve to be commended for their contributions to the community.

Each month, a winner will be chosen for the award, sponsored by the Exchange Ilford, and will receive £40 to spend at the Exchange Ilford retailer of their choice.

An overall winner will then be chosen next year and will receive £400 to spend.

To nominate a Redbridge youngster, email alistair.kleebauer@archant.co.uk.

Megan Hill, 19, of Wyfields, Clayhall, aims to succeed where 9,000 people fail each year and reach the top of the highest mountain in Africa while raising thousands of pounds for charity.

The University of Nottingham nursing student, who went to West Hatch High School in High Road, Chigwell, has the motivation of raising £2,590 for Hope for Children.

The charity works in nine countries on projects such as child trafficking, public health and street children.

Megan, who also went to Gilbert Colvin Primary in Strafford Avenue, Clayhall, said: “I thought the challenge looked really good. The charity was a big thing, it’s a very good charity to be a part of.”

The expedition to the mountain in Tanzania is organised by her university and an information meeting grabbed her interest.

After doing her own research, she was convinced the charity was one to back.

Megan, who is now in the running for the Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Club award, sponsored by Exchange Ilford, said: “They try to change lives in the long term. It’s not just a one-off. They try to build futures.”

Despite never having climbed a mountain or even having gone hill walking, Megan is getting ready to ascend the highest free-standing mountain in the world, which 15,000 people attempt every year.

She will travel in a group of about 20 people including university friends and said it will take eight days to reach the summit.

The group will go on an increasingly tough walking trail but it may also require some climbing and the adventurers have all been warned of the risks, such as altitude sickness.

Megan said: “You can get quite heavy hallucinations. That’s the hardest bit of the walk.”

She has raised £900 through donations, including £100 from Barkingside Rotary Club and bake sales, and will hold a quiz on May 18 in Hornchurch.

To donate, visit www.hopeheroes.org/megan_hill.