2008-09-06 10:46:18 - Clean-up Sponsorship will help Families Survive, Provide Lasting Educational Opportunities, and Encourage Green Practices on the Mother Mountain of Africa

THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE & AURAM SAFARIS
ANNOUNCE THE KILI FUND FOR EMERGENCY AID FOR KILIMANJARO

(Wilmette, IL and Arusha, Tanzania) Sept. 5th, 2008
Rick Sweitzer, Kilimanjaro expedition leader and founder of The Northwest Passage, and Luigi Meloncelli and Jonas Rutta of Auram Safaris announced today the formation of the KILI FUND to aid unemployed and under-employed local porters who assist Kilimanjaro mountain

expeditions by providing paid sponsorship for trash removal from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. "These hardworking porters who make these expeditions possible are having increasing difficulty making ends meet, and this is having a direct effect on the health and education of their families," Sweitzer explains.

Sweitzer, who began his assistance efforts in Africa over thirty years ago in Ghana, knows that timely help can make a huge difference. "Our immediate need is to provide work for these men by organizing clean up operations on Mount Kilimanjaro. I first climbed Kilimanjaro fifteen years ago, when there was no sign of anyone else on the western breach route and no trash to be seen. On my most recent ascent, I was appalled at how much trash has been left on the mountain. Our porters were sharing with us how grateful they were for the work we were offering. It was obvious that we had to find a way of solving both problems."

But the KILI FUND plans to be more than a band-aid for a short period. "These porters are intensely intelligent, motivated young men. While the mountain provides a wonderful work opportunity for them while they are young, there is so much more they can be doing with their lives. So we are establishing a scholarship program that would cover educational expenses for them and enable them to bring new skills and abilities back into their local communities."
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Jonas Rutta of the Haya tribe was one of those young men who began as a porter and quickly became one of Kilimanjaro's most respected guides. Now in his thirties and hoping to focus awareness on the mountain, he is currently training to beat the world record time for the round-trip ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro. His own dream is to one day climb Mount Everest. In the meantime, he will coordinate and lead the clean-up crews, each consisting of about twenty of his peers.
Sweitzer notes that "It's ironic - treks to Kilimanjaro are often used as a way of generating charitable contributions for many different organizations, most of them far from Africa. Now the mountain and its local people need our help. We're calling on all of the adventure travel community to assist us in changing lives for the better, and restoring a mountain to a more pristine state at the same time."

For more information, to arrange an interview, or to donate, contact:
Rick Sweitzer
The KILI FUND
C/O The Northwest Passage / PolarExplorers
1130 Greenleaf Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091 USA
www.nwpassage.com / www.polarexplorers.com
1 800. RECREATE (732.7328) in the U.S. & Canada
+001.847.256.4409 (worldwide)
Fax: +001.847.256.4476

In Africa:
Luigi Meloncelli
Owner
Auram Safaris,
P.O. Box 15966,
Arusha, Tanzania.
Tel/Fax: +255 732 972 459
Mobile 1: +255 784 322 182
Mobile 2: +255 737 003 011
Email: info@auramsafaris.com
Website: www.auramsafaris.com

The Northwest Passage/Polar Explorers are Ranked Among the Top 20 Best Outfitters in the World by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

Auram Safaris is one of the premier providers of safaris, treks, and mountain climbing in Tanzania.