Mountain hero Milad raises £5k for poverty-stricken families in Bangladesh

An Oldham man has completed the gruelling climb of Mount Snowdon in Wales while fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and raised more than £5,000 for charity.

Twenty-three-year-old charity campaigner Milad Sarwar is a marketing graduate and has 61,000 followers on Instagram.

He completed the epic climb with a group of his friends.

Milad said: “There were eight of us in total, many who were my friends from childhood, some whom I hadn’t seen due to other commitments.

“However, through charity we connected and were determined to set ourselves a challenge and step out of our comfort zones in order to raise money for families living in extreme poverty in Bangladesh.

“When we got there, we realised how big Mount Snowdon actually is and how challenging it would be to climb it without food or water.

"We realised we were in for a big challenge.”

The mountain is 1,085 metres above sea level and is the highest in Wales.

The money raised will be used to build houses for families in Bangladesh.

Milad added: “It is hard enough to climb the mountain as it is so you can imagine how difficult it was to climb it while fasting.

"We took regular breaks which gave us a chance to take in the beautiful views.

“After reaching the half-way point the heat became unbearable so we had to take frequent rest breaks.

“I recommend the views to anyone visiting Wales.

"Throughout the climb every time I thought it couldn’t get worse, it became worse for us as a group.

“We were absolutely exhausted when we reached the summit.

"There were moments during the climb when I thought I would collapse due to the hunger and especially the thirst.”

Milad continued: “Luckily, I was encouraged by my friends to complete the climb.

"I couldn’t be more proud of myself and my friends for completing such a gruelling task during Ramadan.

"I thank God we managed to do it.

“It was quite possibly the hardest thing I have ever done as it wasn’t just a physical challenge but a mental one too.

The climb towards the summit took around four hours and the group took the long route to really get a good feel of the challenge since they were fasting.

They did not want to take the easy route as they were determined to sacrifice their ‘thirst and hunger’.

“Trying to keep going required a lot of determination, especially when your body is ready to give up,” Milad said.

“To make things worse the train back down was not in service so we had to scale down the mountain which was also very strenuous.

“We also took the wrong route down and ended up miles away from our cars.

"The return journey from the summit took three hours.

“Thankfully we got back down in time for Iftar (Fast opening meal).

"I wish to thank my friends for joining me on this challenge and raising funds during this blessed month.

"Without them this challenge would not have been possible for me.

“We suffered for a few hours but there are families in Bangladesh who have suffered a life time.

"The thought of being able to change these families lives is enough to make any man climb any mountain of any scale”

“My friend Shuaib Ahmed also managed to raise £1,000 to support our campaign.

"He dedicated many hours trying to raise funds which was a massive challenge for him as he has never done anything on this scale.

"Thankfully his dedication paid off.”

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