One
man’s efforts to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is merging with a
Cayman Islands Red Cross (CIRC) campaign to raise hurricane awareness
with the launch next month of the “Climb for Red: Peak of
Preparedness” initiative. Martyn Bould, who has lived in Cayman for
some 50 years, has been training the last few months for the 5,985m
ascent of Africa’s tallest mountain.

Bould
hopes to use his adventure to motivate people in Cayman to be better
prepared this hurricane season as well as raise money for the Red
Cross. The “Climb for Red” campaign will focus on awareness,
information and education a month ahead of the September
anniversaries of devastating Hurricanes Ivan, Irma and Maria.

“The
farther we are from our last disaster, the closer we are to our next
one,” said CIRC Director Jondo Obi in a press release. “We know
that it’s human nature to get more complacent as time goes by, but
with climate change and the growing intensity and frequency of storms
complacency has tragic consequence. That is why it is so important
for us to constantly try to engage our community into actively
preparing.”

Bould
arrived in Cayman some five decades ago to work as a chartered
quantity surveyor and has managed numerous projects both here and
throughout the Caribbean since then. He is “passionate about
cultural preservation and development”, the press release said. He
is chairman of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, founding
board member of the National Gallery and past chairman of the
National Trust.

Bould
and his wife, Vivian, frequently host cultural events at their home,
and in 2012 he was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with an MBE for
cultural preservation.

The
Boulds have climbed peaks in Bhutan in the Himalayas, and Mount
Sopris in Colorado. For Martyn Bould, Mt Kilimanjaro was a natural
progression, the release said.

The
mountain, which is one of the largest volcanoes to break through the
earth’s crust, is in northern Tanzania, just south of the border
with Kenya, and of the Seven Summits it is the closest to the
equator. There are five distinct climatic zones on Mt Kilimanjaro,
which is an inactive volcano.

To
prepare for the challenge, Bould started focused training some 110
days before the scheduled climb, practising in particular a breathing
programme known as “Oxygen Advantage”, coupled with altitude
training in Colorado, as well as continuing a daily workout routine
with Dottie Rau which he has done for the past 20-plus years

Bould
became more familiar with the Red Cross movement following the
passing of Hurricanes Irma and Maria through the Eastern Caribbean,
and he was able to witness firsthand the response by the British
Virgin Islands Red Cross, which received support from the Cayman
Islands Red Cross, in the aftermath of those storms.

“In
light of the wonderful work that the Red Cross performs in the
traumatic conditions following the passage of a hurricane, climbing
for CIRC appealed to me as a natural way to give back,” said Bould
in the press release.

“I
hope my journey brings awareness to the importance of hurricane
preparedness and encourages the community to donate funds to the
CIRC, thus enabling their disaster preparedness and response efforts
and capabilities.”

The
seven-day trek to the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro goes through tropical
rainforests, alpine moorlands, desert uplands and icy glaciers. Those
who make it to the top are treated to one of the most spectacular
sights on earth.

“Climb
for Red” is a part of a greater Cayman Islands Red Cross engagement
campaign called “Move for Red” which will be launched in its
entirety later this year. The aim of “Peak of Preparedness” is to
tie Bould’s movements up the summit with key actions in
preparedness to ensure that Cayman’s residents are ready for the
peak of the hurricane season in September. Additionally, “Climb for
Red” aims to raise funds for the CIRC’s disaster preparedness and
response efforts and capabilities.

“At
the CIRC, we work hard every day to empower the community, to build
its resilience, and to serve the most vulnerable,” said Obi.
“Having someone like Mr Bould undertake such an amazing journey on
behalf of our organisation and our work is truly an honour, and we
are sure that this endeavour will help us reach a wider audience.

“People
can follow his journey on the CIRC’s social media accounts, and
hopefully while they are cheering him on and donating to our cause,
they are also engaging with the information which we will be
providing,” she added.

Should
you wish to donate to the campaign please click the Red Cross link
below:

https://redcross.org.ky/