A social worker who has helped many youngsters is setting off on an ambitious trek up Mount Everest to support a popular football charity.

Lyndon Jackson, the acting director of the counselling and career centre at Bermuda College, leaves the island on Friday to fly to Kathmandu, Nepal.

The 59-year-old then will then set off to the first base camp of the 29,000ft Himalayan mountain, which is the highest in the world. He expects to complete the trek in two weeks.

Mr Jackson will commence the trip with the “challenge” of the bumpy plane ride into Lukla, home to one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

It is in the mountainous region of northeastern Nepal, where incoming travellers often have to contend with hazardous weather.

His hike to the camp at Mount Everest will take him up near 17,500ft.

There are three to four base camps up the treacherous climb to the top — but Mr Jackson has no plans to “summit” the mountain.

His trip is aimed at raising funds for a charity run by popular footballer Dennis Brown.

Mr Jackson told The Royal Gazette: “What I am hoping for is that people are enthused by this and support Bermuda’s Brazilian Football School, which is a registered charity.

“This particular football school deals with boys and girls between 5 and 14. A big part of it is personal development. They seek to really enhance not only the mental and physical but the emotional growth of youth through football.”

Mr Jackson has spent his career, spanning 30 years, supporting young people’s growth and development as they move from high school on to higher education.

He said: “Young people right now need us. We need to be supporting young people’s development and we need to be supporting them in the right way.

“We need to challenge them inasmuch as they are challenging us.”

Mr Jackson added that the trip had been on his bucket list “for a long while”.

He said it was never too soon to “shoot for things, to have these kinds of goals and to challenge yourself in ways you would not have done before”.

“I have been relishing the challenge to do something that has been outside my box for a while.”

Despite his experience, Mr Jackson called it “a challenging trek”.

“I have never done anything like this before, and we go through different levels of altitudes from Lukla.”

Last year, in preparation, Mr Jackson hiked on Cotopaxi, an active summit volcano in Ecuador.

People can follow Mr Jackson’s trek day by day on Instagram.

His Facebook account will also be updated regularly with progress reports.

He will join hikers from other countries in a group of ten, with another Bermudian accompanying the challenge — trekking from village to village with a guide.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the Brazilian Football School of Bermuda, charity #890 can do so via its HSBC account under the name BDA Brazilian Football, account #BM HBBM 011-017787-011.