A foundation set up by the parents of Western Isles aid worker Linda Norgrove is urging UK climbers to help Afghan women scale mountains.
John and Lorna Norgrove established the organisation after their daughter was kidnapped and subsequently killed in Afghanistan by a grenade thrown by US special forces during a failed rescue mission.
The Linda Norgrove Foundation is now backing a new project, called Ascend, which teaches mountaineering skills to young Afghan women and aims to offer an example of women’s empowerment in the country.
The family hope that the initiative will appeal the Britain’s mountain climbing community, many of whom are based in the Highlands.
Lorna Norgrove said: “We were hugely impressed by what this project is doing for women’s empowerment in Afghanistan.
“News of their achievements has already reached more than four million Afghan women and the project is changing the lives of these young women for ever.
“I think the project particularly resonated with us because as a family we are all keen hillwalkers and climbers.
“We know Linda would have loved this project and we’re sure that it will appeal to the many people in the UK who enjoy climbing the hills and mountains.
“We take for granted the freedom to climb the hills, but this is something which can change lives for these young women in Afghanistan.”
To qualify for inclusion in the project the young women must undertake volunteering projects within their community and commit to a full year’s rigorous training.
Last year, a team of 13 young women climbed three peaks higher than 16,000ft, including one previously unclimbed mountain which they subsequently named.
For many of the young women this was the first night they had ever spent outside of the family home.
Because they did not have enough boots for everyone, they climbed in two teams, swapping footwear along the way.
The foundation was established six years ago, after 36-year-old Linda, an Aberdeen University graduate from Uig on Lewis, was kidnapped and tragically died on October 8, 2010.
Her parents wanted Linda to be remembered for her contribution to life rather than the circumstances surrounding her death, and established the foundation to help women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.
Since then, it has distributed £1million to help women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan, funding almost 80 grass roots projects, including the Ascend scheme.
They hope to raise sufficient funds to continue to fund the project in future years.
