A PENDLE dad helped to raise £17,000 for an African charity by climbing the continent’s largest mountain.

Kazim Khan spent five days climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, along with five others.

The 38-year-old, of Dunderdale Avenue, Nelson, was raising money for Dig Deep, which works in communities in East Africa.

Kazim, a call centre manager, said: “It was harder than we expected and very difficult. I don’t think we realised the endurance of it.

“Every day was at least eight hours long and it was really physically demanding. When you got in to altitude you could tell the difference, it was taking a lot of energy up.

“As well as being difficult physically it was really mentally demanding as well, coping with the lack of sleep and the nature of the task.

“On the final ascent we were already above the clouds, we had to start at midnight and the temperature was -20, it was very tough.

“Then as soon as we started the descent there was a snow storm and it became very treacherous.”

The charity works in partnership with many communities in East Africa in a bid to help improve access to clean water, sanitation and renewable energy.

It helps communities to drill wells and access renewable technologies so that they are better able to overcome the challenges they face.

Kazim, who has a 12-year-old daughter, said: “It was an amazing experience, we got to the top of Africa, and when you see the amazing views you can tell you are at the top of Africa.”

The other team members are Richard Quinn, Damien Collard, Soyf Alam, Aaron Nicholas and Alexander Goldwater, who is from Helmshore.