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Special Announcement - Kilimanjaro for We See Hope! · Adventure Sports Podcast

• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hey friends, thanks for joining the Adventure Sports podcast today.
• 0:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have the big announcement that I've been hinting about for many weeks now.
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: You may recall that I've been saying this is an opportunity for the Adventure Sports podcast family to make a very real and significant difference in the world.
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me explain a little bit.
• 0:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Back in 1993, yeah, I know.
• 0:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Many of you weren't born yet.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Back in 1993, I went to Africa.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: A buddy and I took on second jobs.
• 0:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: We saved our pennies.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: We bought airplane tickets and we went to Kenya.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And while we were there, we built a school.
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we met the most amazing people and saw the most amazing landscapes.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I fell in love with the land, the people, and even the wildlife.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Africa.
• 0:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: is a magical, wonderful place and if you ever get the opportunity or make the opportunity, no matter how hard it is, to get there, get off the beaten path and see what the real Africa is about.
• 1:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Man, I highly, highly recommend it.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: One way that we got off the beaten path, as we found a man who had a batata to, which was essentially a van that he could use as a taxi cab, and he agreed to drive us around for five weeks while we were there.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: His name was Joseph Comeani, ended up being a dear friend.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: What was wonderful about it is that his English was very good, of course he also spoke Kakuyu, and he spoke Swahili.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: So not only did he drive us around in his van, but he interpreted for us.
• 1:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: We were working on building a school, but in addition to that we toured all over Kenya, we went as far north west as Homa Bay on Lake Victoria.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: We went as far south east as Mambasa and Dianni Beach where we got to see the Indian Ocean, and we went as far south as Masaymarah and got to see some of the wildlife there, but while we were there on the southern border of Kenya, I got to see towering off in the distance over the plains, the Serengetia of Tanzania, Kilimanjaro.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Kilimanjaro is one of the seven summits, and it's the highest peak, of course, on the African continent.
• 2:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I looked at it, and it wasn't in the cards for me to go further south, but I said, someday I'll be back.
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some day I want to climb you.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we met such amazing, delightful people, and I remember we were near Kesee.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And acquaintance of ours there had invited a huge group of people to come and visit with us, and there was actually a line going out the hut and across the field of people that wanted to come to us, and they were asking us for things.
• 2:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: They were asking for things that we generally couldn't provide, and it was kind of an awkward situation to be candid, but a man walked in and he had two young boys with him, and he held his sons and his arms with tears rolling down his face.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: and he pleaded with us to take his sons with us back to America.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because he just felt like there wasn't any opportunity for them there.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was heartbreaking to have to say no that we couldn't that we didn't have a way to do that, but it planted a seed in my heart.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: There were many children all over Kenya who needed assistance in so many different ways.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: And since then,
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: often matters have gotten worse.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: The AIDS epidemic ended up killing both parents of many many families, and many children found themselves living on the streets alone.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Also, the conflicts in Sudan drove many children south, indecinia, and into other countries,
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: because the children were being constricted into the armies where they were forced to commit atrocities in war.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so they escaped other countries alone, orphans, orphaned by war.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, every child living on the streets, starving, struggling, every child has his or her own story to tell.
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: They all have their reason, they all have the background, but it doesn't change the fact of where they are and what they need.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I recently found out about an organization that decided to do something about this in a big way.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: And the organization is called We See Hope.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is a humanitarian organization, originally out of the UK, but now they're also in the United States.
• 4:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: And what they have done for many years now is raise money and go work with the local people in various African countries.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Find these kids living on the streets.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Rescues them.
• 4:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: They close them.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: They feed them.
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: They educate them.
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they give them entrepreneurial skills.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Skills that they can use to start companies and have real jobs.
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: And believe it or not, this organization, we see hope.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: has already worked with over 800,000 people in Africa.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's an amazing thing that they've done rescuing children off to streets.
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when I heard this story, I thought back to that father.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: With tears rolling down his face, you could tell he loved his sons, but he also just didn't feel like he had a way to raise them where he was.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: that father that begged us to take his sons back with us, which was something we couldn't do, but we see hope is doing something better.
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: We see hope is finding these kids and giving them a future.
• 5:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now the founder of We See Hope is Phil Wall, and I have hiked with Phil, and he's the real thing.
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm telling you, this man is genuine.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: His heart is as big as you can imagine, and his love for these children all across Africa is simply amazing.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he's also a big adventure in his own right.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he did an expedition to the North Pole among other things.
• 6:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to have Phil on the Adventure Sports podcast and the near future.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to talk about all of his various adventures.
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we're also going to talk about what he is doing with we see hope in Africa.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, I've been saying the Adventure Sports podcast family has an opportunity to make a real significant difference in the world, and this is how.
• 6:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: A group of men have decided to climb Kilimanjaro, and they're calling this climbing for change 2026, and they're each raising a
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: approximately $1 per foot of elevation and Kilimanjaro is, it's $19,300,000 feet but we're calling it $20,000 so each and every person going on this hike is raising $20,000 and the goal is for 15 of us to reach the summit, which would raise $300,000 for we see hope.
• 7:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: and the goal is to reach more than 100,000 youth that are struggling to get by in five different African countries so that they have a chance at a healthy and positive outcome.
• 7:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think I need to tell you the horror stories of what happens to children that are living on the streets in the cities around Africa.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: children without parents, children without protection.
• 7:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think I need to go there, but to know that Phil and we see hope is rescuing these kids mind blowing to me what they have accomplished and what they hope to continue to accomplish.
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the big announcement is that after over 30 years have passed since I first saw Kilimanjaro and decided to climb it and said I'll be back.
• 7:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I am going on this expedition climbing for change 2026 and yes, I'm raising $20,000 for the children in Africa.
• 8:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, $20,000.
• 8:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a big number to me, but it's also not that big of a number.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why should we stop at 20?
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why not 40?
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why not 50?
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why not 60?
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the deal.
• 8:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are thousands and thousands of us that are in the Adventure Sports podcast family and I constantly say chase your dreams chase your adventures but do it in a way that makes a positive difference for the world.
• 8:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what this is about.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now I'm not going to sit here and ask you to give money to me.
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's not what this is about.
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Matter of fact, everyone is going to kill a
• 8:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: and all the money that's donated 100% of it goes to we see hope to help the kids.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So this is about people that have decided to raise $20,000 each by climbing Kilimanjaro to draw attention to we see hope and I know that there are people out there in the audience who have a heart for this.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they've been looking for the right opportunity.
• 9:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to sit here and ask you for money, but I am going to say if you've been looking for a way to make a positive difference in the world, this is one way that you can do it.
• 9:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to put the link in the show notes so you can click it and do what your heart guides you to do.
• 9:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the link in case you're listening and you can't get to the show notes right now is charity.pledget.org slash.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: climbing for change.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me say that again, charity.pledget.org slash climbing for change.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: When you get to the website, if you scroll down to the bottom, there will be a list of climbers that are going on the trip, and my name should be there too, and you can just click on Kurt Lindville Adventure Sports Podcast.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that way, the Adventure Sports Podcast family gets the credit for this.
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: And of course, it's a tax deductible donation for you or for your company, however you decide to do that.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, spend some time thinking about this.
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to be a part of the Adventure Sports Podcast family who is making this difference in the world, then I'm going to say thank you to an advance.
• 10:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: The trip is actually mid January of 2026, so it's only a couple of months out now.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think it would just be so amazing if the Adventure Sports podcast family raised not only $20,000, but why not $40,50, $60,000 to make it difference for these kids in Africa.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: We see hope is doing an amazing thing there, helping these children, and I am so pleased that I can be a part of it.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: So once again, the URL,
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: The link is charity.pledget.org slash climbing for change that will be in the show notes.
• 11:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's the big announcement I'm going to kill him in Jaro after 30 years of dreaming about it, but more importantly, I'm doing it to help these kids in Africa that I met there when I was there over 30 years ago.
• 11:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's one more aspect of this that I think is kind of interesting.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I said over 30 years ago, there are no spring chickens going on this trip.
• 11:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: The men that are going to climb Kilimanjaro are, well, hovering around 60 and above.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: The youngest going on the trip is I believe 45 the oldest is in his early 70s.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Most of the crew are in their late 50s, 60s, so it's never too late to go chase your adventure and it's never too late to make a big difference for the world.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to take a recorder with me, so of course I can interview all these guys as we climb and give you a bit of a play by play on what it's like to actually be there climbing Kilimanjaro and I'll make an episode out of that, so I can in effect take you with me on the climb and you'll get to know the gentleman who are doing this climb.
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: And as you may have guessed, we all have our own unique set of challenges, and when you get to be in your 60s, it's not as easy as it was in your 20s, so for instance, I have a injured foot that I've been going to a physical therapist for for the last few months, trying to get to foot strong enough to actually make it up the mountain, and so I think there's going to be a lot of guys helping guys get there one way or another.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's going to be a little bit of, I'll just call it old-guide drama, but that's all a part of it.
• 12:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: These are men who decided some of them against the odds to go for it and try to make a difference.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you would like to make a difference too, then please click on the link in the show notes and follow your heart.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks!