O/T but Worthy: 1 month to go

If all goes according to plan, this time a month from now I will be standing on top of Mt Aconcagua. At 6.962m high, and with few winter expeditions going on in the Himalayas, I might even be the highest mountaineer on Earth at that moment in time.

As part of the challenge, I'm raising funds for the National Deaf Children's Society.

My daughter Cora is partially deaf. She has no auditory nerve in one ear and a bad case of glue ear in the other. She is a happy, active little girl and bright enough to confuse her babysitters by working the TV remote. But, at nearly 2, the only words she can reliably say are "No", "Hello" and "Daddy". Her sister was talking in sentences at this age. The contrast is a little scary for me as a parent.

Cora, though, is one of the lucky ones. When she's big enough that they can drain the glue ear, she should be able to hear normally with that ear. With a little therapy, she should catch up on speech and be able to live a normal life.

Many of the 45,000 deaf children in the UK aren't so lucky. Deafness is not a learning disability and with a little help deaf children should be able to live lives that are no different from those of other children.

But I was shocked by the statistics, and I hope you will be too:
- 65% of deaf children in England fail to achieve five GCSE grades A*-C (including English and maths).
- Deaf children are vulnerable to isolation, bullying and poor self-esteem.
- Deaf children are 60% more likely to experience mental health problems compared to other children.
- Deaf children are more than twice as likely to be abused as other children.

I hope you agree with me that those statistics should not be acceptable in a modern, caring society.

The NDCS campaigns to change all that, which is why I am raising money for them. You can donate at: Jason's fundraising page, and you can read more about it all at my blog

Please support me and help stop deaf children suffering unnecessarily.

Sorry this is not intended to be offensive but I am highly suspicous of people doing adventures " for charity"

How much is the trip costing? Are you paying all the costs yourself or will the "charitable donations" be covering your costs?

... and TJ plumbs to new depths.

Good luck Poorfour!! and good on you for doing something that most people wouldn't even attempt for a great cause.

Alistair - its a serious question.

I have done similar things myself and the experience made me question the value. Now I don't know if the accusation can be levelled against Poorfour hence I asked. However I am absolutely against using charitable donations to fund adventures for people. Trips like this cost thousands and if the charitable donations are used to fund then then thats thousands the charity are not getting. Its a very inefficient way of funding charitable projects.

TJ wrote:Sorry this is not intended to be offensive but I am highly suspicous of people doing adventures " for charity"

How much is the trip costing? Are you paying all the costs yourself or will the "charitable donations" be covering your costs?

It's a fair question, and perhaps I should have been clear in the OP. I am paying for the whole trip personally. Any money you donate will go to the NDCS, less whatever Justgiving charge for administering the site. I am not getting a freebie from this.

Thank you for that pourfour. In that case I support you wholeheartedly and wish you the best of luck.

Very fair point TJ.
Excellent modding Ozzy.
Good reply Poorfour and good luck on your trip. Wish I had the money to join you.

If you're bothered by the statistics I've quoted, you might also like to know that the NDCS is sponsoring a government epetition.

Many local authorities are cutting services for the deaf as part of the austerity drive, and in many cases this isn't even being clearly communicated. While difficult choices have to be made, these cuts run the risk of depriving deaf children of access to services they need in order to live a normal life - something I would regard as a basic human right.

The petition has passed 10,000 signatures, which forced the Department for Education to post a rather insipid response. The next target is 100,000 signatures, which would put it on the agenda for consideration by the Backbench Business Committee and might lead to some action.

Even if you can't support the NDCS with a donation, you can sign the petition here

Shameless bump!