Can I count on you?

According to the World Health Organization, over 15.6 million children under the age of 10 in Sub Sahara Africa have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. These orphans are more prone to sickness, malnutrition, physical maltreatment, illiteracy, unemployment, homelessness, crime, and increased exposure to HIV/AIDS.

The challenge for Tanzania, the world's fourth poorest country, is to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and to create better living conditions for the rural poor. The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS is nearly 9%, though the infection rate is calibrated to be higher. Composing of nearly 40% of all orphans, there are nearly a million of these so-called AIDS orphans in Tanzania.

In order to bring awarness to this, I plan on hiking Mount Kilimanjaro on Dec 11th 2009 to fulfill a personal challenge, and also to help these very orphans of Tanzania by donating the funds I raise to an orphanage there. I believe in the work they do and want to be part of it.

Mount Kilimanjaro is an inactive volcano in north-eastern Tanzania. At 19,331 feet, it is the highest peak in Africa. The climb is lengthy with high altitudes and low temperatures making the journey both difficult and dangerous.

Can I count on you?