Turning Points: Feb 06 - Jade Richardson

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Overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges can result in a new and fulfilling way of life, beyond anything you could ever have dreamed of.

Jade Richardson, 35, was chronically ill for years, until she forced herself to get back into the world and went trekking and mountain climbing. Now, her life’s work is guiding others on transformational adventures.

“In my early twenties I got very sick; I was fainting all the time and my hands and feet curled up like claws. I was diagnosed with everything from leukaemia to Ross River Fever, but no-one could work out what was wrong with me. I had to leave work and convalesce for months. I was looking at these beautiful trees in the garden one day during that time when I heard the breeze whispering through the leaves. I really seemed to hear the breeze; it was telling me to get out into the world and get my life back.

“Two weeks later I flew to Sulawesi, Indonesia, and trekked eight-hour days for twelve days straight. The first few days were hard as I was terribly unfit, but I just put one foot in front of the other. Over the weeks that followed, I transformed from unfit and sickly to healthy and happy. After Indonesia, I learned to surf in France, went climbing in the Pyrenees, Scotland, Ecuador and Peru, and finished that journey in the Amazon. When I returned to Australia I thought, ‘How do I capture the  power of that experience in my city life?’

“The answer, as it happened, took years to crystallise. In 2000, I was struck with another mysterious illness that left me bloated, arthritic and covered in welts. I was so fragile that even putting a sheet over my legs hurt. Specialists all over Sydney were fascinated by my inexplicable illness, but I was seriously depressed. I lived in a horrible flat, had an awful flatmate, and my boyfriend was a complete bully. I remember thinking I was at a total dead end. So, this time, I listened to my body. For too long I had been living the wrong kind of life.

“As I was recovering, serendipity came through a friend who asked for my help to raise funds for an orphanage in Zimbabwe. Before I knew it, I was one of three women planning to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa! We got corporate sponsorship for our climb, as well as holding fundraising events, and in this way we raised about $15,000 for the orphanage. We called ourselves Girls on Top and all three of us reached the 5,895 metre-high summit – an amazing result. After that, I realised I had found my true purpose in life.

“Now, Girls on Top [see ‘Taking it to the top’, below] invites a new team of women to join a journey each year. Participants are expected to train for the physical challenge, and to raise funds for a specifically chosen charity in the country that we visit.

“Travel grounds me and reminds me of what is important in life. Rising at dawn on an icy cliff on Bolivia’s 6,000 metre-high Potosi one morning, I watched the sun snaking its way around the curve of earth, literally like a rainbow serpent. I have seen a single raindrop reflect the Amazon and a storm above. Wonders are natural, and life wants to be amazing – all we need to do is go with it.”

Taking it to the top

Jade Richardson doesn’t pretend the Girls on Top experience is an easy ride. “We want to help build self-esteem and open up opportunities for women who are willing to step outside their comfort zones to find them,” she says. Ever since her own cathartic moment, Jade has been encouraging other women to take on a physical challenge, and raise money for charity along the way. But it’s not for everyone.

“It’s extremely confronting. A lot of women aren’t capable of reaching out to raise the funds, or of actually doing the trip, and others don’t have the time,” says Jade. “For the recent trip to Peru we had twenty starters, and in the end only three women did the trip.”

Girls on Top targets women looking for an experience outside the office block. “Most are high achievers in different ways,” says Jade. “Every woman makes a commitment to raise $5,000 through an event, and they are encouraged to do something in an area that interests them.” This year, one participant raised $8,000 with an art show; last year another arranged a dance party. Funds are donated to a charity in the region the group trek (see www.afadu.com and www.amazonanimalorphanage.com).

The trips are deliberately gruelling. “Peru was 14 days at over 5,000 metres above sea level, walking for eight hours a day,” Jade notes. Participants have to be resourceful and self-sufficient: “There is a lot of skill-sharing and leadership required.”

Jade organises corporate sponsors (this year, Village Roadshow, Fitness First, Salomon clothing, Telstra and Aerolineas Argentinas chipped in) to support fundraising. For more details, go to www.girlsontop.net.au.