In superb summer weather, eight teams took part in this
year'sCARE International UK/Computer Weekly Three Peaks
Challengeat the weekend.
The event, in which teams attempt to
climb the UK's three biggest peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike
and Snowdon - in 24 hours, raised a total of £50,000, with 91p in
every pound raised going directly to the
charity's
international aid and anti-poverty projects.
Unfortunately, after tackling Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, the
final leg of the challenge up Snowdon was affected by a major
accident on the M6. But the two-hour delay did at least give the
tired teams an opportunity to have a nap on the way to north
Wales.
Helping families in
warzones
CARE International is looking to focus on a number of areas in
the coming year. A a major one will be to pressure governments via
the United Nations to do more to help women and children in
warzones.
The initiative is fuelled by UN resolution 1820 which covers
this area, and the UN secretary general has to report back to UN
members how the resolution is being implemented this summer. CARE
has a staff member in New York to encourage members to do more to
help the women and children who are victims of rape and other
violence in warzones.
Lee Webster, the new CARE campaigns manager, said, "We want to
see more female peacekeepers to help stop the violence against
women and children. In wartime, violence becomes more a part of how
society works, and there is a high level of impunity in a warzone
when it comes to rape."
Unfortunately, violence against women and children continues
after a war finishes, she said, so CARE's efforts are also focused
on the aftermath of a war. Countries CARE already focuses on in
this area include the Congo and Afghanistan.
CARE's online
profile
Webster said the organisation is building up its IT and online
systems to aid projects. Targeted e-mail campaigns, social
networks, Twitter and YouTube are used by the charity. It has 2,000
Facebook friends and 200 Twitter followers, said Webster.
The charity's profile was also widened recently after a blog
written by one of its workers in strife-torn Gaza City was followed
avidly around the world.
Webster said CARE is now on the look-out for well-connected IT
people who can help with existing and future campaigning
efforts.
Rising to the
challenge
The teams that took part in the Three Peaks Challenge at the
weekend certainly did their bit.
IT training firm QA's team was
first to complete the challenge – in 23 hours, 18 minutes
(pictured above as they reached the finish line). It hoped
to raise about £4,500 as a result. The firm's head office is in
Slough, but QA's challenge team, which consisted of four sales
people and two service delivery managers, were from the Leeds
site.
QA team member Tracy Issott was using the challenge as part of
her training to run a 150-mile marathon across part of the Sahara
Desert.
She said, "I am doing the event in 2011 in Morocco, and this
event is a nice little taster to what I will face there."
Issott added, "It’s been brilliant, even better than we thought
it would be. We’re definitely glad we did it and we’ve raised
valuable funds for CARE so we’re very pleased with ourselves.”
The second team to reach the peak of Snowdon was housing
association
Midland Heart, despite having sustained two major injuries.
Deployment manager Lee Smart had to pull out of the Snowdon hike
after his knee gave way coming down Ben Nevis. Admirably, Smart
managed to get half way up Scafell Pike before giving in to the
pain.
The team was also keen to put a Hollywood gloss on the efforts
of technical specialist Simon Smith. He suffered a knee injury on
Scafell Pike, but was determined to take it with him up
Snowdon.
Smith said, "We did Ben Nevis in 4.57 hours when the target is
5.5 hours, so if we hadn't had these injuries we may well have been
in the lead. We might be able to sell the film rights for our
heroic struggle though, with Tom Cruise playing me [although Smith
is about a foot taller]."
The team that won the award for Top Fundraisers was Midland
Heart, which raised a fantastic £7,500 for CARE.
Option Systems, a
provider of software for leading clothing and footwear importers
and distributors, also saw one of its team members succumb to a
knee injury, which ruled it out of the Snowdon jaunt.
Bill Wonders, IT consultant at Option Systems, said, "Coming
down Scafell, my knee gave way. The rocky surface was just too much
for it."
Leicester-based Option Systems also boasted the "Chilli Queen"
and the "Midge Queen" in its ranks. After Ben Nevis, office manager
Emily Wills cooked a huge chilli using the firm's mobile kitchen,
and members from all the teams were invited to tuck in.
While climbing Scafell, Option's team was encouraged to try even
harder, with the promise of a huge pile of sausage and bacon
sandwiches cooked by Wills. This is a team that marches on its
stomach.
On the down side, Option's Midge Queen Vikki Whitemore was
covered head to toe in bites after coming down Ben Nevis during the
night. One team member admitted, "We used her as a sacrifical lamb.
She went ahead for the midges, so we were okay following her."
The Option Systems team received plenty of free clothing and kit
from customers such as Canterbury, Ben Sherman, Kangol, Hi-Tec and
Nike. Option managing director Tony Parkinson said, "We have also
got a signed Martin Johnson (England Rugby Union Manager) England
training shirt to raffle in July, which should bring our total
up."
Parkinson said the firm was aiming to raise a total of £6,000
from the challenge for CARE International.
The team from the Rugby Football Union not only succeeded in the
challenge, despite
having some reservations about their fitness level, but also
managed to keep a phlog (phone blog) throughout the event. Their
phlog updates are all available online.
Take part in next year's
challenge
For those who missed out this year, the Three Peaks Challenge,
supported by Computer Weekly, will take place again on 12-13 June
2010. Sign up
now.