Mount Kilimanjaro rises approximately 4,900m from its base to 5,895m above sea level . |
of two . On 25th August 2014 Christopher and his wife Gillian found out that they were expecting their third child , but their happiness was short lived as Christopher was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer shortly after . Nine weeks later , after having intensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments , Christopher sadly passed away on 31st October 2014 , with his wife by his side and without seeing the birth of his third child . Christopher was not eligible for life insurance due to an existing genetic auto-immune disease , and his family has been left with nowhere to turn .
Tessa explains , ‘ Because there are so many sad stories , there ’ s so much need to promote and be at events all the time . But there ’ s this element of how to balance all of that with your own sanity , and the aim of the climb is to do some pretty intense physical activity and continue that as a means to exploring the world .’
Tessa continued her training over Christmas , which she spent in Beunos Aires , before undertaking a six day hike through Patagonia . ‘ That ’ s been on my bucket list for quite some time .’
Originally from Australia , Tessa became managing director of the EIC in July 2015 . She had been working for multi-national engineering firm Parsons Brinkerhoff , starting in 2005 as a market analyst and working her way up to national general manager , before taking redundancy in March 2015 with grand plans to travel around Europe for a couple of years . Before she could get settled on the beach a friend recommended the EIC job , suggesting it was the perfect job for her .
Expanding on her friend ’ s insight , Tessa explains , ‘ I had done a programme management role for Habitat for Humanity , building houses in Cambodia , and I got a feel for what I thought was missing in the charity sector , that commercial nous and strong project management background . I thought , rather than complaining about it , why don ’ t I invest , midway through my career , some time in the charity sector ? So that ’ s what I ’ m doing .’
Tessa was back to work within a couple of months , but in a very different role to what she had done before . How has she found the change ?
‘ I ’ ve looked at it like a business , rather than a charity . The HR issues are exactly the same as what you would have in a normal business . You ’ ve got legal issues , insurance issues , everything you would have running a project , whilst running a charity , and the rules are pretty similar in most countries . From a practical perspective it ’ s exactly the same skill sets you would use , but you have more of a human interest side .’
Working for a charity , though , must bring with it a different type of pressure , because of what ’ s at stake .
‘ I used to attend events in the commercial sector and I used to enjoy them . Now I find them stressful because it ’ s all about making sure the charity generates funds through these events , and so you feel this enormous amount of pressure because it actually affects someone ’ s life . That ’ s the difference , knowing that if you don ’ t reach a certain amount , you ’ re not going to be able to help someone .’
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Tessa has witnessed many cases personally through the charity to really bring to attention the people it strives to help .
‘ One of the most prominent cases that really struck a chord with me was Billy , a young apprentice who was diagnosed with bone cancer and had to get his leg amputated at the hip . Under the NHS system he ’ s not viable for a prosthetic , just a wheelchair – that ’ s it . That would mean he wouldn ’ t be able to finish his apprenticeship . So we fundraised about £ 85,000 for that case . He walked for the first time about 10 months ago – and that ’ s because of the industry . They are the stories that I look at and go , “ wow , what an amazing sector !”, to have a charity that can do that for people .’
It is certainly a very different career path to the one Tessa set out on , as she surprisingly reveals , ‘ From the age of about three I wanted to be a dentist . I studied dentistry at university and absolutely hated it . I just realised it was not a creative profession for me .’
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Tessa continued her training over Christmas in the Torres del Paine National Park , Chile .
Tessa en route to Mount Everest .
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However , it did lead to a chance encounter resulting in her change of direction .
‘ I ended up meeting my first boss at the dental practice I was working at .
He was working on a big mining project and I was picking his brains about the resource allocations on some of these new mining projects . He said , “ I ’ ve never met anyone like you – do you want a job ?” And that ’ s how I ended up working for Parsons Brinkerhoff .’
While many Brits emigrate to the warmer climes of Australia , with visions of barbecues on the beach and surfing after work , I wonder how Tessa is finding life having made the move in the opposite direction . It ’ s safe to say she is captivated by life in Britain .
‘ You have so many options here . I don ’ t think people realise how much beauty and history they have at their fingertips . I can look at a pub here and it ’ s older than most of Australia .’
Many of Tessa ’ s weekends therefore consist of absorbing as much of our culture as she can . ‘ I ’ ve listed all of the museums and arts shows that I want to go to . I like the idea of being an explorer . I like to learn about areas – there ’ s just so many beautiful places around here .
‘ Because I get to go away for so many events I try to make a weekend of it and explore different locations . I was in Exeter recently for an ECA function so I decided to explore Exeter and then went to Bath before returning to London , so I ’ m trying to explore as much of the UK as possible . I just love the old style building designs .’
We hope that the memories of Britain ’ s beauty , combined with the emotional story behind the Kilimanjaro expedition , will inspire Tessa and her team to reach the summit and return safely .
Tessa concludes , ‘ It ’ s the first fundraising for a cause that the charity has ever done and that was a big push for me , to show people the cases , to get involved with them and develop that emotional connection to our industry , and you only get that by telling the story .’
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February 2017 | 29 |