Mountain climbers plan African trek

Soaring more than 19,000 feet above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. And this summer, sophomore Sam Leibovitz and senior Jordan Youkilis plan to climb it.

In a callout meeting Tuesday, the students recruited mountaineers for Childreach International USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing health care, education and child-protection rights for children. The organization challenges participants to take on physical endeavours, with trips ranging from mountain climbs to trail hikes.

Students interested in the climb will pay a $250 registration fee, and trip expenses will be covered by fundraising efforts.

“We live such a rich life here,” Leibovitz said. “It feels good to do something for the kids like that.”

Leibovitz became involved with the organization through his sister, Amanda Leibovitz, who is now Childreach International USA’s fundraising director, as well as his mother, Elizabeth Leibovitz, who is the organization’s executive director.

Both Sam and Amanda worked the 2010 summer in rural Tanzania.

“Just seeing the kids’ faces when you give them an empty water bottle — ecstatic,” Sam Leibovitz said. “They live in such a different world.”

Sam Leibovitz is a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Youkilis, also a member of the fraternity, found out about the organization through an announcement Leibovitz made at a chapter meeting.

“I knew immediately I wanted to get involved,” Youkilis said.

Youkilis spent last summer volunteering in Peru for Global Vision International, teaching young children English.

“Some of the kids are so smart,” Youkilis said. “But they just have so little. They made so much with what they were given.”

For the upcoming climb, both Youkilis and Leibovitz said interested students should not be afraid of the physical strain. Training, they said, is fairly minimal.

“I’ve been playing racquetball lately — that’s about it,” Youkilis said.