A man from Belfast has raised almost £10,000 for the Down’s Syndrome Association (DSA) by climbing the tallest mountain in Africa.

Conor Cleverley, 23, travelled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, inspired he said, by his Aunt Sue.

Sue is my dad’s sister and lives in England with her friends who also have Down’s syndrome. She loves word searches, jigsaw puzzles and watching Irish dancing, especially Lord of the Dance. Her favourite singer is Tom Jones and she loves to sing and dance to ‘Sex Bomb’ at every family reunion. She loves doing activities such as cycling and playing musical instruments with her friends.

Conor spent the best part of a year holding fundraisers before the climb. The former professional Irish dancer toured with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance in 2020, and much of his fundraising centred around Irish dancing as a tribute to his his Aunt Sue.

‘My Aunt Sue loves dancing, it’s her passion as much as it is mine.’

From dance classes to raffles, quizzes to CrossFit, Conor pulled out all the stops to raise money before he left.

I chose the Down’s Syndrome Association as I wanted this charitable venture to be kept local so as many people as possible would support it. The DSA is the only charity in Northern Ireland who does work like this so it was the perfect fit.

 

In addition, Sue grew up in a time where Down’s syndrome was not viewed in the same light as it is today, so she has definitely benefited from the platform and advocacy of rights that the DSA provides across all of the UK.

After hiking over 45 miles and tackling altitude sickness, Conor successfully reached the summit – which stands at 5895m – on the 13 July.

It is impossible to explain how difficult this journey was but it was the most amazing experience of my life. Truly a once in a life time opportunity.

I am absolutely delighted to have raised so much money for DSA as I know it will make a big difference to the people who benefit. It’s very humbling to set a target and, through the support of the community, surpass these expectations massively. This journey would not have been possible without everyone who supported me and I am so grateful for this.’

You can still sponsor Conor here

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HUGE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PHENOMENAL FUNDRAISING CONOR