Sunrise at the Summit, I did it!

All,

Thank you so much for your generous donations, your encouragement and well-wishes in support of my Mt. Kilimanjaro climb for the kids of Flying Kites. I had an amazing trip and made it all the way to the summit of the mountain, which was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done!  I definitely thought of all of you back home who were pulling for me as well as the kids we were climbing for as inspiration to push through the pain.

For a few days prior to the climb, my fellow climbers and I stayed at the Flying Kites home in Njabini, Kenya.  We got to spend time with the 26 kids of Flying Kites at home and at school and it was an incredible experience.  All of these children are orphans, with no one else in the world willing or able to take them in.  You might expect that their home would be a sad place, or that you’d be constantly reminded of all that they have lost or suffered, or at least that is what I expected.  But instead I was pleased to discover that these kids are full of love and joy and optimism and they are wonderfully cared for and loved. They were a joy to be around and were so grateful and enthusiastic about our presence and our climb.  Before we left for the mountain, all of the kids gave us advice, ranging from “keep your eyes on the prize” to “wear five pairs of pants and three hats and you’ll be OK.”  And then we had a dance party!

Again, I thank you for the support and I send my thanks on behalf of the kids of Flying Kites who are well aware that the opportunities they have been given are due to the generosity of others!

If you have any interest in participating in any future adventure challenges on behalf of the children of Flying Kites, you can learn more here: http://flyingkitesglobal.org/ac/.

If you’re interested in sponsoring a child or learning more about Flying Kites, you can do so here: http://flyingkitesglobal.org/.  I can’t say enough good things about the amazing work they’ve done in Kenya for these kids.  I won’t be climbing any more mountains (one was enough for me!), but I will definitely be back to Kenya to spend more time with these amazing children.

Much love,

F

p.s. For those of you who have asked – I am 71% of the way to my fundraising goal (hooray!) – my goal is $4000 and it costs Flying Kites $6000 per year to house, clothe and educate each child.  This is the link to my fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/francescahogi/francescahogisfundraisingpage