Grace Millane's mum reaches summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in memory of daughter
The mother of British tourist Grace Millane has reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on a climb to honour her late daughter and her husband, David Millane.
Gillian Millane reached the peak, which is 5895 metres above sea level, this week.
Photos posted to Instagram showed her posing at the summit, wearing long pants and a jacket, along with gloves, sunglasses and a beanie.
She was accompanied by her husband’s brother Martin Millane, sister Heather Gammer and her friend Jason Bedding.
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The group did the climb to raise money for White Ribbon, a charity raising awareness about domestic violence, as well as a local United Kingdom hospice and the charity Widowed and Young.
Gillian Millane threw her support behind White Ribbon after her daughter died “so some mum doesn't have to go through this or some father doesn't have to go through what I go through”, she earlier told Newshub.
Grace, a 22-year-old from Essex in the UK, came to New Zealand in 2018 on her OE.
She made international headlines when she disappeared in Auckland.
Her body was found in a bush in the Waitākere Ranges a week later.
Jesse Kempson was found guilty of her murder in November 2019 and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
In November 2020, David Millane died of cancer.
Following Grace’s death, the family also started the organisation Love Grace, which strives to help domestic abuse victims.
Thousands of Kiwis have donated handbags to the cause, which sees bags filled with cosmetics given to women who “need to be reminded of their worth”.
Gillian’s niece earlier posted on the Love Grace Instagram page about her aunt’s adventures, saying she had to go to Sri Lanka to train.
“We don’t have any mountains here in Essex, in fact we don’t have many hills,” the post said.
“So she went to Sri Lanka to get some practice in.
“It was hot, wet and there were so many leeches, the views were amazing and the people she met fast became friends.”
The Millane family’s fundraising page shows they have raised £19,208, or NZ$36643, for White Ribbon UK so far.
They have also raised $9294 for St Luke's Hospice and $4975 for Widowed and Young.
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