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Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor, a 96-year-old, fun runners from the Hash House Harriers, and teams from various Island businesses, were all attempting to scale the equivalent of Mount Everest this weekend.
The charity fundraiser in aid of the Gurkha Welfare Trust involved competitors conquering circuits of Gorey castle by going up and down the steps from “base camp to the summit.”
The idea to make Everest the target wasn’t just because it’s the world’s highest mountain and often viewed as the pinnacle of achievements, but symbolic: it’s in Nepal – home to the Gurkhas.
One of the first to set out on the challenge was 96-year-old former teacher Bob Le Sueur – although he admitted: “Just getting to the top once and back down’s my aim.” Mr Le Sueur has visited Nepal and is well aware of how poor the country is. “I was keen to get involved and to encourage others because one of the aims of the event is to try and raise £22,000 to build a primary school for up to 130 children in the Gorkha district of Nepal.” The district was recently devastated by a series of earthquakes.
Jersey’s branch of the Gurkha Welfare Trust was set up in 2014. At the time there were at least nine ex-British Army officers who served with Gurkha units living in the Island, six of whom agreed to be trustees.
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