"He is in our hearts every day": Family's Mount Kenya Christmas challenge in memory of RAF serviceman Malik
The mother and sister of a much-loved RAF serviceman are to scale one of the world’s highest mountains in his memory this Christmas – and raise thousands of pounds for a mental health charity.
Air specialist Malik Bunton, who worked at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire, died by suicide in July 2023 at the age of just 21.
His mother and sister are flying out tomorrow to tackle Mount Kenya, Africa's second-highest mountain, where they will attempt to reach Point Lenana which stands 16,355ft above ground. Their trek will start on Sunday and is due to take five days to complete.
They are raising money for the Young Minds charity, a mental health organisation which provides support for young people up to their age of 25 and their parents.
Malik’s mother Cate said: “My daughter wanted to do something special for my 60th birthday so she booked it all. We find Christmas really hard – every day is hard but it is harder at this time.
"The last holiday we’d had together was in Africa, in Tanzania, so going back to Africa is part of it.”
Around £3,000 has already been donated in advance of the challenge and the family have raised about £9,000 for Young Minds from different events in recent years.
Cate said: “All the things Mal loved doing – hiking, playing games, playing sport – we try to do them because it is like having part of him with us and those were the good times.
"It is all centred around that and people have been so generous.
"Young Minds help young people at the start before things get bad and they’ve got a parents’ and carers’ helpline which gives advice to people worried about their loved ones. I wish I had known about this helpline before because you don’t know what to do if you are worried. It is really useful."
She said the work of the charity is particularly important at what can be a very difficult time of year for many people. In 2023, 1,840 people under the age of 35 died by suicide in the UK – more than five a day. Around three-quarters were boys or young men.
Cate said: “We want to get the word out that you can pick the phone up to somebody, especially at Christmas when we are all supposed to be happy but actually there’s a lot of people who are not so happy. The figures are shocking. As a parent, you can’t imagine anything worse that could happen to you.”
They intend to leave a specially-decorated stone at the summit of Mount Kenya which has been created in Malik’s memory by Cate’s friend Julie Lui.
Cate added: “Malik was always the first person to help someone when they were struggling and would notice when someone was upset. He had such a kind and generous heart.
"He was just so amazing, he used to light up a room when he walked into it, was so popular and really intelligent as well.
"He is in our hearts every day. We take him with us every day and try to remember the good times. It was an absolute privilege to know him. He was such an amazing young man – I know all mums say that but he really was amazing.”
To donate, visit https://malik-bunton.muchloved.com. To contact Young Minds, the helpline is 0808 802 5544 or visit www.youngminds.org.uk/