#ReturnToKili - The celebs who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief

For this year’s Comic Relief another set of celebrities took on Africa’s highest mountain – Mount Kilimanjaro.
Like their 2009 predecessors, the group climbed 5,895 metres in order to reach the summit of Africa’s highest mountain. They faced an 8-day gruelling trek through tough terrain, high altitudes, and the risk of potential illness in order to raise money for Comic Relief.

The #ReturnToKili team was made up of 9 celebrities: Little Mix’s Jade Thirwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, former MP Ed Balls, Love Island’s Dani Dyer, Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas, NFL star Osi Umenyiora, BBC Breakfast’s Dan Walker, Pointless host Alexander Armstrong, and broadcaster Antia Rani.

The objective of this climb was to earn donations for Comic Relief, a major UK charity set up with the goal of supporting young and vulnerable people in the UK and Internationally. Their vision is to create a world free from poverty and Comic Relief does this by funding amazing organisations doing amazing things. Comic Relief has invested over £1 Billion since 1985, and through humour and stories of hope have shown that people can make a massive difference.

The hour-long documentary following their climb and summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, as well as the trials and triumphs along the way, is being aired tonight at 9pm on BBC One.

During the climb and at the summit all the climbers were geared up in a Kathmandu Hand Knitted Khusi Beanie. The Khusi Beanie is much more than a hat. Each beanie is hand-knitted in Nepal and helps to improve the lives of the knitters – who value their independence, their community and the chance to use their traditional craft. It’s not only a chance for the women of Nepal to gain economic independence but also for Kathmandu to connect to the place that inspired their name – and a way for consumers to support the craftspeople of Nepal.

The range of Khusi Beanies: