Oldham friends complete gruelling charity trek whilst fasting

A group of Oldham friends have climbed the UK’s highest mountain in aid of poor people in Bangladesh while fasting during Ramadan.

Milad Sarwar, 24, organised the gruelling climb to the peak of Ben Nevis with five other fundraisers. They managed to raise £1,500 and hope to reach their overall target of £4,000, through their fundraising efforts.

The money will be donated to Nessa’s Trust, Milad’s Charity, and the funds will be used to build houses in Bangladesh. 

Milad said: “We aim to help as many people as we can by continuing our work. Slowly, with the help of Allah we will grow our projects.

We recently helped build a house for a man with Cancer who was struggling to work as a rickshaw driver. We built a house for him and his family alongside building a house for another family of 11.

When we climbed Mt Snowdon last year, I felt like it was the hardest climb I have done but after climbing Ben Nevis I would say that climb was actually the hardest. It felt ten times harder.”

He added: “You don’t realise how big these mountains are until you get there yourself and see it with your eyes. The mountain was literally touching the sky. There was a lot of snow as we climbed higher, sometimes up to our knees.

It was a difficult climb though I am fitter and more active compared to last year’s climb of Mt Snowdon. We had to wear mountaineering boots and use proper equipment. In places the temperature dropped below zero. The hardest part was when we reached the snowy part of the mountain.

As we were fasting we felt really hungry and dehydrated, but my team had high morale and passion so we motivated each other. There were points where we really wanted to quit but we kept driving onward by reminding ourselves about the impoverished people we seek to help.”

He concluded: “We reached the peak of the mountain in about five hours. We were slow because we were fasting and were thirsty and hungry. As a group of climbers we are all beginners, but we try to outdo ourselves each year. We are very motivated in that respect.

After reaching the summit we had to come down straight away in order to get back to complete our fast. Being in Scotland, we ended up breaking our fast with Irn Bru on the way down.”

Milad said he was very close to calling the emergency rescue services because of how tired and drained he felt. He said he became dizzy and his legs throbbed. At that point it really hit him and the climb became overwhelming, but his team helped to raise his spirits and kept him going.

He commented: “Had it not been for them I don’t think I would have reached the top.

My future plans after conquering the UK’s biggest mountain is to climb a mountain abroad, maybe even Mt Everest. We are a group of young lads who want to do some good work for humanity and the world. Building houses for people is very close to our hearts as it is a rewarding cause.

Campaigning has given us a purpose in life and we hope to keep raising funds for the rest of our lives.”

Milad says charity had brought people from different nationalities together.

He added: “I don’t think most people can say they have climbed the UK’s tallest mountain while fasting. A lot of the locals were shocked and impressed that we were able to carry out the climb.

One of the five pillars of Islam is to give charity (Zakat). We feel it is our duty as Muslims to give back. We are lucky to be in a position we are in. We are British and have all we need in life. We’ve got homes and cars and jobs. So we have the opportunity to help others who are not so well off.

It’s not a burden but it is our duty as Muslims. I hope our story will inspire a lot of young people out there to not only do charity climbs and events but to set up their own charities.”