High school senior will hike Mount Kilimanjaro for SHE
Bella Wiener, a high school senior at Bend High School in Bend, OR, is preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in June 2015 to spark awareness for one of the most overlooked, but persistent taboos, that is holding back millions of girls across the world: menstruation.
Bella decided on doing a charity climb for SHE while participating in Brown University’s summer leadership program. I came across SHE and fell in love with the work and ideas. I appreciate how SHE isn’t just providing temporary aid, but rather creating entrepreneurs and creating a much more sustainable solution to the problems that women in sub-Saharan Africa face when trying to receive equal education opportunities.”
Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is nothing new to this 17-year-old. When Bella was in the 5th grade, her mother organized a charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money to build an orphanage in Kenya. “I was fortunate enough to travel to Tanzania and climb part way up Mount Kilimanjaro before I had to return to the base because of my young age. Ever since this incredible experience, I have had the desire to return to Kilimanjaro and summit it,” shares Bella.
Bella reached out to SHE about her plans, and our Chief Instigating Officer Elizabeth Scharpf expressed immediate interest in helping Bella achieve her goals.
“Bella is a smart and passionate young person who is a great example of how one person can make a difference. I am so glad she took initiative to increase the awareness, reach, and impact of what we do. $50,000 will help us triple our pad production capacity from 500/pads a day to 1,500 pads/day in Rwanda. Bella’s climb will also allow us to expand and scale globally with our patented technology.”
The official kick-off of Bella’s charity climb took place on October 9th at the Patagonia store. SHE’s Founder and Chief Instigating Officer Elizabeth Scharpf joined Bella at the event.
The Kilimanjaro SHE Climb is a team effort and Bella invites anyone to support her fundraising effort. “The best ways you can support the Kilimanjaro SHE Climb are to join our climb team, donate to me or one of my climbers, or tell your friends about SHE and its mission.”
You can support Bella’s cause and follow Bella’s preparation for her climb on her blog: http://kilimanjarosheclimb.wordpress.com/