My Lulu Kili Fundraiser Is Live!

My fundraiser www.lulukili.org is now live. This December I am getting to the top of Kilimanjaro – 19,341 feet high, 50% less oxygen than at home – so my Hekima ‘sisters’ can go to school.

Would I climb Kilimanjaro, if I could not tell anyone about it?

People tell tales about ‘That one time when I was on Kilimanjaro…’, but that is not why I want to climb this impressive mountain. The reason that I am climbing Kilimanjaro, the world’s 4th highest mountain, is not so I can run back home and tell everyone that I did, but because I want to raise awareness of the needs of my Hekima ‘sisters’, who live in all-girls orphanage in Kenya.

I want to inspire my Hekima ‘sisters’ to think beyond their limits. I want for them to have what I have at home – people who love and believe in them, to have the opportunity to go to school and to be able to stay at school until they have learned all they crave to learn. So that they can become who they want to be, not what someone tells them they should be.

I want to show them that when we, girls, put our minds to something, we can do anything, even if our society doesn’t believe it. To do this, I decided to challenge myself in their own backyard. This December I am getting to the Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro – 19,341 feet high, 50% less oxygen than at home! I see myself at the summit and my Hekima ‘sisters’ going all the way to university!

I have set myself an ambitious goal that pushes me to train. Training means getting myself beyond my comfort zone, until my feet ache and I am out of breath. Training means getting outside and immersing myself into beautiful nature. Training means changing my mindset, allowing myself to believe in my own abilities.

I want love, confidence and education for my Hekima ‘sisters’.

My Hekima ‘sisters’ were orphaned by HIV/AIDS, forced into servitude, and came from the street. Yet, they wake up with a smile and open arms for love. I bring them love. I have spent time with them since I was 4 years old – we get up to a lot. We play together, read books and work in their farm. Last year I helped to deliver a cow, which was then named Lulu after me. I also organized an olympic games complete with a celebratory bonfire and s’mores…

Besides inspiring confidence, I am climbing Kilimanjaro to raise funds. Educating an orphan girl in Kenya costs money, which I do not yet earn. In California, girls are told that they can be whomever they want to be. Help me spread this beyond California. Alongside other volunteers I bring love and by summiting Kilimanjaro I will show them girls’ power. But I want to do more. With your help I can send them to school and keep them in school.

You are probably asking yourself why sponsor me instead of other causes? There are many charities that help children in Africa: book drives, AIDS charities and water charities. However this orphanage is a place that I have a personal connection to. I am your guarantee that your donations will reach those you chose to help. Once I have summited Kilimanjaro, I will personally deliver your donations to the hands of Kate Fletcher, the founder of Hekima Place. All the money you give will go to the education of my Hekima ‘sisters’, because my mom will match your donations up to the cost of the expedition.

My answer to the question “Would I climb Kilimanjaro, if I could not tell anyone about it?” is yes.