Hike Kilimanjaro

The Need

According to the WHO, “A billion people in the world have a disability severe enough that it limits their participation in family, community and political life.” Among these, children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups in society.

The Cause

Since 2003, Kupenda for the Children has been equipping children with disabilities in Kenya and Tanzania to meet their God-given potential and achieve a fully integrated society where people of all abilities have access to health, education, and loving community.

The Impact

Your climb helps to change negative perspectives about disability. Children with disabilities who join the Climb feel a sense of their strength, value, and capacity, and after our Climb, they and their climbing companions use that energy to advocate for disability justice in their communities. Our 2015 Climb has made an enormous difference in the lives and communities of the three children who joined us. Many local leaders and community members have been inspired by their accomplishments to support other children with disabilities in their communities through education support, medical care, counseling, and loving inclusion. Today these three Climbers (Mercy, Hassan, and Fumo) continue to share their experience and advocate for love and justice for people living with disabilities. The twelve American and Kenyan adults who joined them have also become powerful disability advocates through a documentary film about their experience that will debut this year!

Your Turn

The Kilimanjaro with the Children challenge is back! In December of 2018 and January of 2019, Tony Monaco from HGT will lead a team of American Climbers and Kenyan children with disabilities to the top of this mountain to raise awareness and support for even more children with disabilities! This is not a 5K charity run or a Christmas donation check – this is a chance to summit a mountain that less than .1% of the population will ever set foot on and to do it for a cause that impacts more than 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide! Those who join the Climb will have an opportunity to visit the Gabriella Centre in Tanzania and the Kupenda team in Kenya, meet the children they support, and participate in powerful disability advocacy campaign activities!

Kilimanjaro with the Children is not just a Climb – it’s an opportunity to raise awareness and funds to support the needs of children with disabilities in Kenya and Tanzania! Your trip costs will cover your medical insurance, meals, and accommodations. If you choose to join us on the mountain, you’ll also be raising funds to cover your Kilimanjaro Climb and enable the children with disabilities and their Tanzanian and Kenyan caregivers to join us on the journey. Finally, you’ll be supporting Kupenda’s and Gabriella’s programs so they can help more children with disabilities access the care and support they need. The impact of your trip is much more than a couple of weeks in Africa – it’s a long-lasting investment in powerful work that is saving the lives of children with disabilities!

For more information or to learn more about our Kilimanjaro and Kenya trips, please email us at [email protected]