Shropshire’s Kelda Wood receives MBE Kelda Wood, from Shrewsbury, was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honour List 2021. An accident in 2002 left Kelda with a leg injury that ended her dreams of becoming an Olympic horse rider. After rebuilding her confidence, Kelda changed her focus and eventually retrained as an outdoor instructor. In 2010 she launched the charity Climbing Out to help young people who have been through life changing mental or physical trauma. The 5-day outdoor activity programme offers funded places to enable participants to rebuild their confidence, self-esteem and motivation. Kelda has represented Great Britain as a member of the GB Para-canoe squad and was selected as a member of the Adaptive Grand Slam Team climbing Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. In January 2017 she became the first recorded adaptive female to summit the mountain. In December 2018, Kelda set off to row solo across the Atlantic with the aim of inspiring others, raising awareness about mental and physical trauma, and raising funds for Climbing Out. Each day she rowed for a different young person, saying, “It was never about me, I wanted to reach people.” 76 days later, Kelda had rowed 3,500 nautical miles, becoming the first para-rower to solo row the Atlantic. She raised over £50,000 for Climbing Out in the process. Her charity’s motto is, ‘It’s not about saying I can’t, it’s about saying how can I?’ “There are many people who have played a part in my journey, but there are four in particular who stand out as being fundamental in shaping my path. They have nurtured, mentored and supported me and I feel this MBE isn’t a reward for the things I’ve done - it’s a reward for 12 | It’s beautiful
them - for giving me the opportunities that have brought me to this point. So, I’d like to say a big thank you to Marc Woods, Jo Hampton, Dave Bunting and Martin Hewitt”, said Kelda. “I would also like to dedicate this honour to my Dad, who sadly died just 11 weeks before I found out about the MBE. He was always very quiet and reserved, but he really showed me how to be the person I wanted to be. I would have loved for him to know I received an MBE and I hope it would have made him proud.” Kelda is now taking her ground-breaking programme virtual, with a series of workshops aimed at enhancing mental wellbeing and resilience. The aim of the fully funded workshops is to widen the scope of the charity by offering mental resilience support to as many people as possible. Due to the pandemic, the workshops, which are being sponsored by law firm Lanyon Bowdler, will be available on the Zoom video app, and will see Kelda sharing mental resilience tools for the benefit of those taking part. Kelda said, “I felt it was important to carry on the work we are doing with Climbing Out and Zoom workshops are the best alternative we can use during these difficult times. “Mental wellbeing and resilience are important for everyone but can be particularly significant for people who are trying to come to terms with mental or physical challenges.” Amanda Jones, of Lanyon Bowdler, said, “Kelda is an inspiration and has helped so many people for more than 10 years since she founded her wonderful Climbing Out charity. The workshops are a clever adaptation of the work carried out by Climbing Out and I am sure will be of great benefit for all those taking part.” For more information about the workshops, email Kelda keldawood@climbingout.org.uk For more information on Climbing Out visit climbingout.org.uk.
