An 82-year-old grandmother has climbed one of the Tour de France’s most famous mountains to raise money for Gaza aid.
Anne Jones, from Lewisham, south London, rode 20km (12 miles) up Mont Ventoux in southern France to support the Amos Trust’s appeal in Gaza.
She battled hail, rain and fog as she cycled six hours to the top of the climb, 1,910 meters above sea level.
Mrs Jones has raised £13,000 for the appeal.
The grandmother-of-six said she was “delighted” to have accomplished the feat and hoped it would change the “assumptions” people make when they see “an old face”.
“I want to encourage people to get outside,” says the retired psychotherapist and social worker.
“There are a lot of people who reach 65 and think their age means they can’t do things, but my message is that they can.”
Ms Jones was first inspired to tackle the mountain known as the “Beast of Provence” during a cycling trip last summer with Amos Trust director Chris Rose.
She said she felt she had a “responsibility” to address this achievement for the Palestinian people.
“I would rather use my time this way than wring my hands in despair and fear,” she wrote on her JustGiving page.
“More than 11,000 murdered Palestinian children is 11,000 too many, just as every Israeli killed is one too many.”
In a statement released after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Amos Trust said it “[ed]Both the ‘brutality of Hamas’ attack’ and ‘the severity of Israel’s retaliation’.
A team of people, including Mr Rose and Megan Williams from Amos Trust, accompanied Ms Jones on the ride.
Ms Williams said the octogenarian was an “inspiration to us all”.
Ms Jones said she had also received a lot of support from family, friends and people in Gaza.
“There’s been so many donations, it’s really quite overwhelming and that’s been another motivation because you don’t want to disappoint people,” she added.
Ms Jones now plans to continue her volunteer work in Calais, offering English lessons and helping refugees repair their clothes.
She has previously done volunteer work in India and Romania, among others.
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