Friday, October 7, 2011

And beyond…. Chile To Kili

On my 25th birthday, I organized and lead 10 students on a mission - trail cleaning, natural studying and, finally, reaching the summit of Mt. Meru. I first conducted a natural study in Arusha National Park, followed by a small, yet meaningful birthday celebration when we reached the summit. The weather was not at its best, but we made it.


 We made it to the top! Such trip is unusual for the local Tanzanians and indeed, it was the first time for the students, which meant so much to us all, specially myself, I was honored to take the lead as one of the committee member of Wildlife Conservation Society. The same day, we lunch our fund raising project on scholarship for disadvantage students who aim to study and work in the natural resource management field in Tanzania.


Growing up, I have always been interested and involved in nature conservation. I am extremely frustrated seeing the high level environmental degradation around us with lack of passionate and committed local professionals and their minimum involvement. I know that I must take actions to raise awareness of environmental protection, not only for myself, but for us and all our generations to come. My first try was to cycle around Africa and see the Motherland as a whole (http://cyclingaroundafrica.blogspot.com/).

 A few years of idea sharing with friends and support from around the world, it came to the idea of “Chile to Kili,” my around the world fund raising project in bringing up perspective future environmentalists. The mission is to raise $100,000 scholarship for Tanzanian students who wish to study and work in the natural resource fields.

 I am cycling on my two wheels to navigate the world in December. I will meet with conservation stakeholders along the way and put in a few hours each day working with them from Santiago to Kilimanjaro. Throughout the project, I shall encourage the use of bicycles as transportation, as well as exchange thoughts and ideas on carbon reduction with people I meet en route. It took two months of preparation for the planning of this project to be where it is now.

 Thanks to so many people, it has been successful so far and I would not have been able to get this far without any of their help. Less than three months left before my flights to Chile, I must focus on fund raising alone, as it is the first step of the execution of my whole project. Therefore, I would appreciate any donation possible from you. The amount goes directly to the Conservation Resource Center account: Bank name: Barclays Bank. Branch:Arusha Branch code: 002 Account name: Conservation Resource Centre Account number: 9001901 SWIFT CODE: BARCTZTZ We are setting up PayPal and First Giving accounts later to facilitate online donations. For those who would like to take fund raising to the next level(even a Captain Fund Raiser!), they may create an account at the “Fist Giving” website under Chile to Kili, then collect funds from their friends.


 I am asking you to please help me in support of our community and the beauty of nature that surrounds us which we seem to forget sometimes. For us, our children and the generations to come, let us all learn to love and respect our mother earth by preserving nature and protecting our environment. We should not only rely on organizations but one person, one step at a time! Should you have any project related question or concern, please feel free to email me: elvis@chiletokili.com. Looking for customized bicycle tours Thank you.

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