A Stirling man ascended Africa’s highest mountain Kilimanjaro earlier this month to raise money for a men’s mental health charity.
Tom Kinsley, of Torbrex, started the hike on Saturday July 2 and reached the 5895m summit – which stands at more than four times the height of Ben Nevis (1344m) – in the early hours of Thursday July 7.
Twenty-one-year-old Tom has so far raised £1920 for the charity Brothers in Arms which aims to reduce the rate of male suicide in Scotland.
He said: “Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. Brothers in Arms’ strategy is about ‘prevention through self-management’ using both tools and information that enable men to manage their own mental health.
“Their app ‘Thrive’ provides free access to a fully trained mental health coach via their live coaching programme.
“I have personally struggled with anxiety for a large part of my life which has led to poor mental health at points so this charity is close to my heart as I know how important it is to talk to someone when you are struggling.”
Tom, a former St Ninians Primary and Stirling High pupil, got an apprenticeship with BT on leaving school which he completed in May 2020 and
now works full time for the company.
He funded the trip to Kilimanjaro himself through a tour company and set up a JustGiving page last month.
Tom said this week that the ascent of Kilimanjaro was more of a mental challenge than a physical one, adding: “Once I started getting symptoms of altitude sickness it didn’t make me feel great physically, but then having to push yourself to continue climbing into heights where you knew you would feel worse was difficult.
“The night time also caused me quite a bit of anxiety.
“Once the sun goes down it’s freezing and if you wake up in the middle of the night feeling unwell your choice is to put several layers of clothes on and go out your tent into the pitch black (where there is nothing to do) or you’re stuck in your tent until you hopefully fall back to sleep.”
To contribute to Tom’s fundraiser go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tomkinsleykili2022
