Two men from Okehampton have raised over £30,000 for charity with an epic mountain climb.

Rory Honeychurch and Brandon Horn summited Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, on September 11 to raise money for Rory’s nephew after he was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition.

The gruelling five-day trek saw the two men walk across alpine desert, through rainforests and stay overnight in arctic conditions.

Despite tough conditions and walking over 12 miles at high altitude, the men kept their spirits high and made their friends and family thoroughly proud.

The money Rory and Brandon have raised will go towards Cystinosis Foundation UK, a charity which supports families affected by cystinosis and helps finance the research of the rare inherited condition that affects the kidneys and the eyes.

Rory’s nephew Kobe was diagnosed with cystinosis in October 2024 at the age of just seven months when he stopped gaining and then started to lose weight.

Rory said: “His mum, Hayley, kept persisting for an appointment, despite being told many times that they believed Kobe’s weight to be purely situational due to all the emotions and stresses of Hayley losing her dad, Mark, around this time. They eventually got a paediatrician referral, and it was then that a blood test showed that something was seriously wrong.”

Kobe has a gruelling medication schedule currently consisting of ten different medicines that he has to have multiple times throughout the day and night, constant hospital appointments, and regular blood tests.

All of these medications and the condition itself results in frequent vomiting.

As cystinosis also affects the eyes, Kobe has to have eye drops four times a day; a build-up of crystals in the eyes can make his eyes sore and sensitive to light.

Rory continued: “Throughout all that Kobe has had to go through already in his short little life, he’s always such a happy little boy.”