Kilimanjaro Climb to raise Climate Change Awareness

Nairobi, 25 February 2009 - Youths from impoverished urban areas in Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana will join a climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness on climate change.

The climb, which kicks off on 28 February, is the fourth annual ascent to "rooftop of Africa" organized by the Kilimanjaro Initiative, a Nairobi-based Non-Governmental Organization, in partnership with the United Nations. This year, ten underprivileged youths will join 25 other people from the private and public sectors in a group led by Timothy Challen, the founder of the Kilimanjaro Initiative.

Timothy Challen founded the Kilimanjaro Initiative in 2005 after he was shot during an armed robbery in Nairobi, Kenya. Following extensive surgery and a long period of recovery back home in Switzerland, Tim returned to East Africa with a desire to help create a safer urban environment.

This year, the aim of the climb is to raise awareness on the dangers linked to climate change by highlighting the need to protect our environment and the importance of providing greener, safer and better communities for all. Upon reaching the summit under the banner of the UN's global UNite to Combat Climate Change campaign, participants will use a satellite telephone to call UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Rising temperatures, increased precipitation and extreme weather conditions will have a direct impact on where and how people live. Not only will the economic and public infrastructures of communities be affected, but urban centers may also be dangerously stretched in order to accommodate displaced populations. Consequently, social ills such as unemployment, lack of educational facilities, inadequate health care systems and criminal activities may increase in urban centers.