Navy veteran and team off to Kilimanjaro despite setbacks
A former service petty officer and physical training instructor with MS and six of his close friends and family are continuing their Tanzanian challenge to scale Africa’s biggest mountain despite flight delays and problems with lost luggage in order to raise cash for foundation
EX-SERVICEMAN and MS sufferer Knox White is determined to turn setbacks into ‘diamonds’ as his team make their way towards an attempted climb of Mount Kilimanjaro after a rocky start.
47-year-old Knox White, from Eastney, has set off along with six other of his close friends and family, including his wife Samantha and sister Charlotte, on their journey to Tanzania to complete their climb of the highest mountain in Africa.
Knox was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2004 just a month after being discharged from the navy, following 13 years of service as a petty officer and physical training instructor.
‘Safe to say the journey to Kili so far has had its fair share of setbacks,’ said Knox.
The group have already come up against various hurdles from flight delays to lost luggage, having arrived in Tanzania without their luggage and, most notably and the group say ‘devastatingly’, Knox’s mountain trike and wheelchair.
‘It’s been an emotional rollercoaster and we’ve not even hit the mountain. We just keep asking ourselves, how are diamonds formed? Under pressure,’ added Knox.
Despite complications, with their sights firmly set on the mission ahead and with luggage due to follow their arrival ahead of the climb which will run until January 15, the team are feeling determined to complete their mission.
Their quest to summit Mount Kilimanjaro comes as part of Knox’s drive to raise money for The Amelia Mae Foundation, a charity which he has supported since meeting friend and founding member of the Foundation, John Murray. It supports families affected by Neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer that affects children, set up in memory of John’s ‘compassionate and lively’ two-year-old cousin, Amelia Mae.
The next charity event to raise money for the foundation will be held on February 4, at the Gaiety Bar on South Parade Pier.
To find out more about the team's African journey up Kilimanjaro visit @ the gift of being broken on Instagram or to donate visit gofundme.com/f/the-gift-ofbeing-broken-vs-killimanjaro.