Climbing Kilimanjaro for clean water

To raise money for and awareness of the global clean water crisis, musician Kenna is climbing the world's highest freestanding mountain with some of his famous friends.

Fri, Sep 25 2009 at 11:02 AM

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Photo: Tambako The Jaguar/Flickr

In a little over three months, Grammy-nomimated musician Kenna will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money and awareness of the global clean water crisis in a campaign called Summit on the Summit.

Right now over a billion people on the planet don't have access to clean water, the most basic requirement for life.

Kenna will be joined by some of his famous pals including Isabel Lucas, Jessica Biel and Lupe Fiasco as well as some heavy green hitters like Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques (we're big fans of Alexandra, read more about her initiative Blue Legacy), Kick Kennedy, eco-activist and granddaughter of Robert Kennedy, and photographers Michael Muller and Jimmy Chin.

The climbers will be heading up to base camp in about a month to start training and acclimatizing for their seven-day, 50-mile bid to the 19,331-foot high summit which is scheduled for January 2010.

Mount Kilimanjaro isn't a technically difficult climb but offers plenty of dangers due to the cold and extreme altitude. Climbers die every year on the way up, most due to the effects of altitude sickness.

You can help the cause by donating money through the United Nations Foundation. PlayPumps International, a really cool organization that invented a water pump enclosed in a children's merry-go-round, is one of the benefactors of the money and will be using the funds to install more of their life saving merry-go-rounds in communities in need.

Summit on the Summit is being support by HP, PŪR Water Filtration, and First Ascent by Eddie Bauer.

We'll check back in with the climbers once they hit base camp and will report on how things go once they start the climb.

[Summit on the Summit]

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Comment: 1

Armand Dirks Oct 29 2010 at 7:07 AM

7 Summits for Water is a new project that continues the big climb in favour of water. 7 Summits for Water consists of 7 climbing expeditions to the famous 7 summits (the highest mountain of every of the 7 continents), 7 awareness campaigns and 1 fundraising campaign. The target is to raise at least Euro 500.000,- for local water projects. The project has a time span of 5 years, ending in 2015, the same year in which the UN Millennium Development Goals officially ‘end’. The 7 Summits for Water

.... More

project serves as a marketing event tool that enables us to spread awareness about water problems and to raise funds for water projects through media attention and sponsor possibilities. Of course we need you to support us, too. You could join the project in different ways: • using your network to spread the word about the project; • supporting the unique, 15x15m summit banner with a clear ‘water’ message; • supporting another sponsor proposal, starting from Euro 10,00; • helping to create a mutual, effective awareness campaign; • joining one of the expeditions (or support treks), individually or with a team of friends, colleagues or business partners. Have a look at the website: http://www.climbingforwater.org!

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