Tomorrow I climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with my son Ben as part of an adventure program put together and led by K2 Adventures. One of the things that really attracted me to www.K2Adventures.org is their Mission Statement: To care for children and families with special needs and or life changing medical circumstances by providing services and funds that will be used for educational and medical enrichment.
Mt. Kilimanjaro is an incredibly stunning and a true miracle that rises out of the African plains. But, the even greater miracle is these kids that we have been working with for the past 2 days, at an orphanage and school that K2 Adventures supports. It has been the most heart wrenching and moving experiences to go in and serve the albino and blind children, as well as many other kids with a variety of diseases that are in some cases terminal or very, very difficult and challenging to live with, or survive.
The money that we pay to make the climb goes towards these children who otherwise would not be getting what care they receive through K2 Adventures’ Program. Things like education and medical care, love and emotional support, and necessities like mattresses and daily items. They still sing, play and they still have fun. But, to put it in perspective, Kilimanjaro makes me a little nervous to climb… I’ll take it one step at a time and I expect to have a successful experience… but these kids have much higher, steeper mountains to climb just to deal with their daily personal challenges.
We have one albino child climbing to the top of the mountain with us tomorrow and if he makes it, he will be the first albino from Tanzania to climb the mountain. This has been an extremely touching experience for both Ben and myself, and reminds us both how truly blessed we really are. In reading this brief post, I hope you find yourself blessed, too.
