Lawyer turns king of the jungle

KEITH ETHERINGTON... off to the Borneo jungle

Solicitor’s jungle adventure

AN Oldham solicitor is to spend two weeks in the steamy jungles of Borneo as part of a project to bring clean water to a village.

Keith Etherington will be part of a team of 12 solicitors from the Law Society of England and Wales which is working with aid charity Raleigh International.

Keith, who works for Mellor and Jackson in Church Lane, is more used to books and paperwork than two weeks of manual work in conditions unlike anything he has experienced before.

He explained: “When we arrive in Borneo, we have a long trek with all our kit to the camp. Each day the team will be sent up the mountain to build a dam before piping the clean water down to the community.

“We will be the only team undertaking this project and its success stands or falls on the work that we do.”

None of the members are experienced with the task, but the charity, Raleigh, is arranging training in advance to deal with the basic logistics, survival and acclimatisation. Each team member needs a course of inoculations to protect against tropical diseases and rabies and Japanese encephalitis.

Although Keith coped with the injections he explained what his real fear of being in the jungle. “It’s the spiders! I made the mistake of Googling ‘Borneo spiders’ and have seen that this jungle is home to some of the most terrifying spiders in the world.

“I am excited and terrified in equal measure. Each of us are keeping in mind what it is going to be like turning the water tap on in the village for the first time. I’m sure it will be worth all hard work.”

After completing the project, the team will be delivering workshops in law for lawyers in the region.

To qualify for the expedition next month, each team member must raise £2,750 for Raleigh International by September 23 in addition to money for kit, flights and inoculations.

To help Keith’s fundraising you can visit www.justgiving.com/keithetherington or donations are being collected at the offices of Mellor and Jackson on Church Lane, Oldham, and above the Post Office in Royton.