Oh, how good it feels to be able to say that all of us made it to the top of Kilimanjaro! Liz, Clayton, Elise, and I all were all able to summit and make it back safely.
We had an amazing experience - one that is tough to describe. I will send out more detailed e-mails to my friends and family as well as pictures of each segment of my trip - 1) The Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) site visit in Nairobi, 2) the trek up Kilimanjaro, and 3) the Safari we added on at the end.
In total, the group 2 trek participants all raised $55,000! All of the money goes towards projects in East Africa. We were fortunate enough to see the work of Lea Toto - an organization that works directly with USAID and VSO to help families with children affected by HIV. They are able to help 3,800 children infected with HIV - and hope to one day be able to double that number and help 8,000. I was truly blessed to be in the group that got to visit with Evelyn. Evelyn lives in Nairobi's largest slum and has 5 children. Herself and most of her children are infected with HIV. Evelyn supports her family by making and selling jewelry and ornaments. I was glad that the entire group that visited her was made up of women! We all bought enough things to help support her rent and food costs for 3 months. Walking away - I wish there was more that I could have done.
The entire experience was humbling and inspiring. I will be starting my own blog soon to write about my personal experience and my adventures to come. Thank you to everyone that has donated and supported us through this challenge. Your money has gone to an amazing cause.
DDM
No comments:
Post a Comment