From Morocco to Med Steps daily for RifCom

Nik Etheridge is approaching the half way mark of his month-long challenge to climb Med Steps every day in June in a bid to raise money for RifCom.

RifCom is a Gibraltar-based charity that supports communities in the Rif mountains of Morocco.

Mr Etheridge’s goal was to raise £1,000, but by day 10 he had exceeded that. However, he is still looking for donations.

His desire to support RifCom was twofold.

“I broke my leg a few years ago and now cannot do contact sports so challenges like hiking the Toubkal mountains and hiking the Jordan trail later this year with RifCom is great for my fitness and physical condition. I have started to trail run as an alternative to contact sports,” he said.

“The charity is so worthwhile. People just next door to us in Morocco experiencing poverty just isn't right when we have such luxuries in our everyday lives. So anything I can do that can help bridge the gaps and raise awareness whilst doing challenges I enjoy is great.”

He opted to do the Med Steps because during lockdown he was unable to get to the bigger heights in Andalucía and he needed something that was going to push him both physically and mentally.

“I have done the steps before but I think three days running was the most as I usually do longer hikes in Spain at weekends,” said Mr Etheridge.

He visited the Rif in February with the team to learn a bit more, including about the latest sporting project which is laying an astro turf football pitch in one of the mountain vil-ages near Chefchaouen.

People can check out the charity projects at their website which is www.rifcom.org and they can donate at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/niketheridge

“If people cannot afford to donate but want to share the message to improve the audience they can visit my Instagram profile @nik_esq where I am posting daily updates which can be shared with all the donation details on,” said Mr Etheridge.

“My next step is to start hiking further afield and I plan to raise money for RifCom plus a local community challenge wherever my travels take me.”