Cork woman: I’m climbing Kilimanjaro in my wedding dress

ON May 29, Cork woman Lenore Good will take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa for charity. It will be her fourth time doing so over the past four years.

But, she its, her first time in a wedding dress!

Seriously? A wedding dress?

What’s more, she is going to be accompanied by 14 other women from Cork who will all be similarly bedecked!

A few minutes in the company of this super-woman and there isn’t one scintilla of doubt about her commitment and determination to the cause: to build a safe house for the children in the area who are subjected to abuse, both physical and sexual, on a daily basis.

Her first climb happened “by accident”, Lenore explains.

My cousin ed away in 2018 and her death shocked me into changing my life. One of my long-term ambitions had been to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. 

"It was sparked by a feature I’d seen of Gary Barlow and some of his contemporaries doing something similar for Comic Relief. So, I embarked on a climb and raised €92,000 for six Irish charities.”

Her trip to Tanzania was an epiphany moment for Lenore.

“The people there are so happy with so little. Even the smallest thing can have such a huge impact.”

She stayed in a lodge, run by a “tour-de-force” called Teddy. Funds raised from accommodating those climbers en route to Mount Kilimanjaro are used to finance a primary school for 336 children.

“Located next door to the lodge, the school is under the auspices of the church and it’s like a diocese in itself. Income from the lodge goes towards the teachers’ salaries.

Before I first went there, I asked if there was anything I could bring over with me. All they asked for were some used black shoes, pencils, and maybe some skipping ropes. That was it.

Lenore put a call out on social media and ended up with 600 pairs of shoes.

“We had 22 boxes of stuff in total to bring to the children!”

“Then Covid hit,” she continues, “and we couldn’t ship them out. My house was covered with the boxes and, in the end, I paid €1,800 to ship them out.”

She didn’t anticipate them getting stopped in customs, or, more significantly having “to pay customs off to get the shipment released.”

It was a baptism of fire for her.

With corruption so widespread, trust is essential.

Balancing cultural differences too has been a “steep learning curve” for Lenore.

“Irish people are so great to , but our natural inclination is to rescue people, adopt them, to bring them here, thinking that will solve their problems. I had to learn how important it is for us to them in their own communities.

“In the last four years, we have sent 26 locals to college and they, in turn, are helping their families.

“When I first went to Tanzania, I worked with a crew and formed relationships with the guides and porters.”

Lenore still works with the same crew to this day.

It has taken her eight visits more than four years to build up that trust with the kids.

“Abuse is so prevalent there and accepted as the norm. The odds are stacked against children; 68% of those under 12 years of age think it is okay to be asked for sex in exchange for a gift. 

Kids as young as seven or eight are being sexually assaulted.

“I have a seven-year-old”, says Lenore. The daily reality for the Tanzanian kids “shocks you into action”.

“Many feel safe only at school. Some will get up at 4am and walk two hours to school in order to feel safe. They are constantly worried about food and being abused.”

Much of the abuse happens in the home, and on the way to and from school.

“The culture over there is very male-dominated so, having a woman like Teddy in charge of a lodge means she must be a force to be reckoned with.”

And she is. Just like Lenore!

The mother of six children ranging in age from 22 down to five, Lenore has spent many years fighting for the rights of her own children, some of whom are autistic.

With a heart that big, fighting for the rights of the children in Tanzania is second nature to her.

Lenore its that Teddy has become more than a friend to her.

“She’s like my sister,” she says.

“When Teddy and photographer Abdi visited Ireland last year, Lenore says it was like a movie for her and a real “culture shock”.

It was her first ever long-haul flight and she even experienced a McDonald’s drive-through.

“The idea of having a choice of what to eat, or being able to go to the fridge whenever you want it, was all very special”, says Lenore.

“Teddy and I have set up an NGO, called The Teretta Foundation (named after our two grandmothers, mine being the late Etta O’Shea of Blackpool).

We have bought land and are building a self-sustainable project, including a safe house and kindergarten for the children in the area. It will be a self-fulfilling project.

“Money doesn’t always go where it’s intended. So, that’s why we are doing it ourselves. We need to educate the moms regarding abuse and give them the tools to look after themselves. Some have never been educated.”

Lenore is heading back to Tanzania this month to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in a wedding dress with the second of four groups this year. Their aim is to help raise awareness and monies to fund the safe house for the children of the area.

“The second group I’m bringing out are 14 women, some of whom are moms of children with additional needs.”

“I will make sure it’s a very special trip for them, as I know most have never done anything this life-changing for themselves as they always make everyone else a priority.

“Some will climb the mountain with me, in wedding dresses/veils/tutus, etc.

“Some are there for the experience, but all will row in to help.”

Last February, Lenore bought a group of 15 transition year students from Kinsale Community School to Tanzania. The school arranged the flights, and Lenore arranged everything Tanzania-side once they arrived.

“They got to see both the beauties and the harsh realities,” explains Lenore.

The has been phenomenal. They were not expecting to be so blown away. It was totally life-changing.

“When we were there in February, we decided to bring a little bit of Christmas to the 336 kids in the school. We brought 20 23kg bags full of presents, wrapping paper, fairy lights, a Santa suit. We made them Rice Krispie cakes and jelly. They had never seen anything like it and were screaming with delight.”

Much loved by the locals in Tanzania, she is known as Mama Lenore or Mama Xmas.

With calm focus and buckets full of love, Lenore juggles her beloved home life with her devotion to helping the kids of Tanzania. Her husband Ian keeps the wheels turning when she is away. As do her two older girls who have had “first hand experience and connection to the purpose” having travelled out there with their mum.

The fundraising is almost a full-time job in itself, Lenore insists, but is never a deterrent.

“I’m looking to bring two to three secondary schools back there in 2025 to help with the building of the dorms and get them involved in community work. It is an incredible experience, education is way more than four walls of a classroom.”

For now, Lenore is focusing on getting fit for the climb of a lifetime!

To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/teretta-foundation or visit outinthestickswithsix social media pages