Kil-a-man-jaro Fundraising Trek

“It’s been about a week since I returned from Africa. As often happenswhen momentous trips conclude, the overwhelming immediacy of emotions,still vivid and raw on the plane ride home, have already begun to fade-leaving me with only a thin dreamlike residue of my African adventureof which to cling. The trip was so dynamic in its challenges- quitecomplete in its depth of experiences. Literally, in my 20 odd days onthe road, I cried numerous times. Some tears were bitter, some sweet,some from exhaustion and some from joy. I sat in tattered school roomslistening to orphans sing hymns, and only several days later satperched on a rock at 15,000 ft. watching the clouds snake their way upthe tallest mountain in Africa. I played soccer in a park with refugeechildren displaced from post election violence, discussed the upcomingAmerican election with a Masai chief, visited the ‘cradle of humanity’,and gave myself a pat on the back for somehow coordinating a trip for17 strangers and seeing them safely through a politically unstablecountry to which I had never before visited. I watched a pride of lionscircle and stalk a gazelle from 20 feet away on the Masai Mara plains,and stood atop a 19,368 ft. peak in a raging snowstorm.” "The summit moment, as cliché as it felt, was exactly like the movies.Although we hadn’t done anything monumental like scale the slopes ofEverest, the few seconds of pure joy felt upon reaching our destinationwas as raw and intense an emotion as I can recall ever feeling. Iimmediately began tearing up, with exhaustion and joy- a sense ofrelief compounded by the advance of daylight. The sun had come out, andas I descended, I felt my brain and limbs begin to thaw and cast offthe icy, numbing layer that had blanketing me for the previous 7 hours.I began to smile. I can’t remember a time when I’ve been more drainedof physical or mental energy- but somehow happy and content at the sametime. I finally shuffled back into base camp 11 hours after our journeybegan. I began to assess the damage of my teammates- many who appearedto still be shell-shocked. A silent nod was all that some were capableof mustering. Some appeared truly rattled, some wanted to hug me andcry, muttering that it had been the most amazing experience of theirlife. I’m not sure any of us were prepared for the intensity of it all.It was truly the hardest thing I have ever done.” If the Mt Kilimanjaro climb is on your bucket list then why not raisefunds for children in need while doing it?http://www.volunteer.org.nz/kenya/kilimanjaro/

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