A High School Student to Scale Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for AIM. Donate Now.
March 5th, 2012: It enlightens. It encourages. It empowers. It brings hope, strengthens resolve and builds resilience. “It’s the one thing that no one can take away from you.” It’s EDUCATION!
Most of us may take this invaluable asset for granted, but for millions across the globe, even getting basic education is an enormous challenge.
Spurred by an ardent desire to help children surmount this challenge, Meera Kanani, a grade 11 high school student and her mother, Rupa Kanani are taking on an equally insurmountable challenge: They are gearing up to climb the second tallest mountain in the world this summer – Mount. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa – to raise funds for AIM for Seva Canada. Meera and her family have been dedicated supporters of AIM for SEVA Canada for several years.
Education, undeniably, is denied to millions around the world. In India, thousands of children are forced to eke out a living, tilling the soil in farms or working in factories. Poverty is the root cause of their despair, often accentuated and perpetuated by social conditions.
Financial aid solves only a part of this complex puzzle. Loving care, nurturing encouragement and most of all, right ambience that brings the best out of them, fix the rest of it. Aim for Seva (AIM) helps children in India by bringing them closer to schools in student homes, where they are offered emotional support along with financial aid.
Meera and Rupa are acutely aware of the value of the work AIM does. They were introduced to the organisation back in 2004 by Meera’s uncle and aunt who sponsored a student’s home in Gujarat, India in the memory of their fathers. “The one thing that I liked the most about the charity was that 100 percent of the donation goes toward the intended cause,” says Meera bubbling with enthusiasm. Fun-loving and adventurous, she is super-excited about her forthcoming climb.
It is her adventurous nature that made her take up the literally “uphill” challenge of reaching the 19, 341 ft tall summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The strenuous climb needs at least 16 weeks of extensive training and a very hard six- day trek up the mountain. “I always thought of the climb as a fun and creative adventure,” says Meera. Her mom too has always wanted to do this “someday”. In 2007, tragedy struck the family when Meera lost her dad, Mayank. Her goal is to raise enough money to be able to add the third floor to the hostel her uncle built in Gujarat and dedicate it to the loving memory of her father.
Rupa is equally creative and adventurous. “For me the motivation comes from the fact that my daughter Meera is with me,” she says. She is cautiously optimistic and aware of the risk involved in the climb. “Although the success rate is touted to be 97 percent, our research shows that only 50 percent of the climbers make it to the top. Altitude sickness is the biggest challenge and one can even get delirious at times,” she says.
How does she plan to deal with the risks? “By being realistic and not going with the goal of scaling the summit at any cost,” she says.
The climb is hard and cold and these two gutsy women need much more than the warmth of your best wishes: They need support in terms of donations to help realise their dream. Their goal is to raise double the height of the mountain which is 19, 341(ft) x $2 = $38, 682. We request donations in the unit $2/ft. For example, you can sponsor us for 500 ft which would be a donation of $1000.
All donations of $50.00 or more will receive a tax receipt.