Marvel Rises To The Kilimanjaro Challenge

---

93% blind, Marvel is described by her son boxer Joe Joyce as his 'inspiration'

Marvel on the roof of Africa at 5756m above sea level

Marvel by name and marvel by nature, Marvel Opara is registered blind and as a single mother of two who like many has faced numerous challenges. However one that she has imposed on her self is her dream to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Putney resident Marvel suffers from a condition called Optic Atrophy which means that she is 93% blind....or as she chooses to say "I have 7% vision - #POSITIVITY....so I think it's fair to say I see the world in my own unique and MARVELlous way and Mount Kilimanjaro was no different".

Marvel said on her fund raising page: "Firstly I love LIFE! I make the most of every day and I live it fearlessly. I am a proud single mother of two wonderful, successful sons but before I am a mum I'm ME and so I am procrastinating no more and have started on the road to fulfilling a lifelong dream".


'Jobey' & Torann see mum off at the airport

So when her son Joe Joyce (affectionately known as Jobey - yes Putney's boxing hero) took to the ring for his professional debut, Marvel was not ringside but in Africa having reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro! As well as fulfilling her life long ambition she was also raising funds to support the RNIB (the Royal National Institute of Blind People) - 82p of every £1 raised goes directly to helping blind and partially sighted children and adults.

Crossing dessert landscapes

and deep forests

To reach the mountain, Marvel had to trek for 7 days across the Rongai Route en route to the summit of Africa's highest mountain. The route started close to the Kenyan Border in the forest to the North East of Tanzania.

Marvel with her guide Eli

The challenge ahead

One of thirteen challengers Marvel had her own guide Eli, they were joined by a medic a leader and thirty eight porters and a group guide.

Marvel 'on top of the world'

Marvel told PutneySW15 that when Marvel reached the peak: "I felt it was out of this world as well as feeling that I was t the top of the world.' Now back in Putney,she feels: 'Anything is possible. Although I had limitations because of my visual-impairment climbing the mountain, I overcame the obstacles as I do in everyday life. Even when I went sledging (unintentionally) several metres down the mountain on summit night, I dusted myself down and carried on. Like I always do in my life, keep marching on to the next challenge.

Marvel commented that: "The reality of losing your sight is that you don't just lose your sight; you could lose your independence, your income, your ability to get out and about, and the chance to do what you want to do. Your support will help RNIB give people who have lost their sight vital support to help them find their lives again".

November 3, 2017