Climb For A Cause

What is Climb For A Cause (CFAC)? (Anoo)

In the simplest terms

In the simplest terms, CFAC, is a volunteer organization that aims to raise funds for people in developing parts of the world, through an adventure activity like mountain climbing. The real essence of CFAC; however; lies in the motivations that started it and the philosophy that keeps it alive. CFAC is not really an organization, its only a "means".

The conception

The concept of CFAC was born in my mind during my April 2002 trip to Africa. On the penultimate day of the trek, we had time for solitary introspection. I was sitting on an outcrop of rock facing an endless stretch of African desert. No sign of life around me, my breathing was the only sound I heard and my tears the only water anywhere in sight. I was overwhelmed – overwhelmed by the physical exertion of walking 75 miles in 6 days, overwhelmed by what I had heard about AIDS and the people in Africa, overwhelmed by the warmth and love of the African people, overwhelmed by how easily my way of life had managed to shield me from the reality that a majority of the world’s population lives in and overwhelmed by the paradox of being in a place so beautiful whose people lived in some of the most disturbing conditions.

The last two thoughts never left me. They formed the motivation for CFAC. I was startled by how easily the routine of life had occupied me in a way that made me completely forget about the reality of life around the world. What shocked me more was the fact that I had managed to forget this after having grown up in a developing country for the first 22 years of my life. I was simply appalled with myself. I felt like a horse with blinders that had been running its own race and had view of just its own lane. I almost felt like I needed a forcing function that would lift the blinds.

When you are truly disturbed, action is spontaneous and inevitable. So, CFAC was inevitable. CFAC became the means to have a true understanding and awareness of the reality of the world and mankind. A deep awareness will lead to action – action to change how we see, think and live life.

It is a "means", not an organization

A "means" to greater understanding and awareness. Greater awareness of human beings, our "selves" and greater understanding of the world we have created for our "selves".

There are 3 elements to the means that CFAC suggests - people that are in need, the place where they live and an activity that is meditative.

Visiting people that are in need opens our eyes to parts of the world that are far removed from the reality of our own lives. It makes us understand fellow-people and in turn, makes us turn a mirror unto ourselves. It makes us see, what we as mankind have created as lives for our "selves".

Raising funds to help the people in need spreads the word about their situation and the cause. It helps us understand them and raise awareness about them with the donors.

Doing an endurance activity like mountain climbing brings the mind and body together. In this state of heightened togetherness we may be able to contemplate and reflect our visit with new people and what that means to our "being" and our lives.

Making it happen

The philosophy that CFAC is based on is not tied to the specifics of the "means". The "means" are open to change. They are determined each year by the group of people that come together to experience through the "means". This implies that we could choose a different endurance activity than mountain climbing, a different kind of place than a developing part of the world or a different type of fund raising and so on.

The process starts by finding a group of people that are interested in sharing an experience based on the CFAC philosophy. Most often these are people that are interested in travel to understand the world and themselves through it. They also enjoy outdoor activities. CFAC provides them with a unique way of combining travel, closely seeing real life (as the natives live it) in a new place, meeting new people and doing an outdoor activity.

Once the group is formed, they work together to determine the cause, the people, the place and the activity. They plan the experience together - each of them shapes what they want to see and feel. They bond and grow together in their understanding of the people. They work together to raise the funds.

The group then heads out for the trip. They generally visit the people and place before embarking on the activity. This way, they get a chance to meditate their experience of visiting the people during the quieter moments of the activity. The naturally beautiful environment serves as the perfect setting for this contemplation. During rest periods of the activity, the group shares their reflections and they learn from each other.

They return to tell their stories. Often they are changed in some significant way.

Last year

As its first year activity, CFACers visited South America; specifically Peru and Bolivia and raised over $40,000 for the people and children in Bolivia. They climbed Macchu Picchu to show their commitment and contemplate their visit with the people in Bolivia.

This year

In 2004, CFACers are going to southern Afric and will climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money for AIDS. The adventure is from Dec 20-Jan 5, 2005 with a summit of Kilimanjaro on New Year's!

Get Involved

If any of the above has moved your inner being, get involved. Start by sending email to anoo_padte@msn.com for further information.

posted by Climb For A Cause @ 7:18 PM