Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Welch

Kevin climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with Ilya Brotzky and the Fistula-Free climb in January, 2010. Read on to hear his thoughts and reflections from the experience!

What did you wish you knew before climbing?

What I wish I knew going into the climb: bring a camelback that has an insulated tube. For the summit climb, mine froze and I had no water for like 8 hours! Haha, but I'll assume you want some more general advice. I would say go into the experience open-minded, and flexible, yet prepared. You should know it is very difficult and you will need to be dedicated. Treat it like you're running for a marathon. Out of the 11 people in our group, I think I had the best experience physically/emotionally, by effectively training before the climb. Between October and mid-December, I spent 6 days at the gym doing cardio in split daily sessions. In the morning I would run for ~30 minutes doing interval jogging/walking and then do resistance training, and then in the evening I would put the treadmill on maximum incline and do an additional ~30 minutes (my daily goal was burning 800 calories). In hindsight, I think I would have focused less on full-body weight lifting routines, and focused more on legs/back/core. I don't want to say it was excessive because it made the experience much more comfortable and enjoyable for me, and I think this could knowledge could really help other participants, but I know it's difficult to put that much time and effort into the training. A side effect of successfully training for the climb is I was in excellent spirits during the climb, and my body seemed extremely resilient to the altitude and other illnesses associated in being in a developing country. I'd also suggest start drinking water now and make it a habit, since dehydration is a major risk factor of altitude sickness and you don't want to shock your body by drinking 3-6L a day for the first time when you start climbing. In addition to being athletically conditioned for the climb, I got into amazing shape and have managed to retain my athleticism and have made my personal health and wellness an important aspect of my life. Also, be sure you have proper gear (which can be expensive - I'll address that in the next paragraph!)

Do you have any advice for fundraising?

Unique advice for Fundraising/Cost relief: Unfortunately I didn't raise nearly as much as wanted to since I had a crazy schedule that semester. However, I did reach out to my university's newspaper, as well as the regional and local newspapers in my city/hometown. Awareness through Facebook also helped, and friends and acquaintances made some donations. I departed right after the holidays, so I asked family members to donate instead of buying my Christmas gifts, and politely brought it up to any interested extended family members at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Gear/equipment for the climb was expensive. My undergrad graduation was in December, so as a graduation gift my parents contributed to my flight and some gear costs. You can easily find gear for affordable prices- use Craigslist and eBay to buy cheap hiking poles, used winter jackets, goggles, anything Gore-tex. I also went to Walmart and picked up waterproofing spray, which I used on my frame backpack (day pack), outside of my jacket, hiking gaiters, my duffel bag, and my boots. I think the only thing I bought brand new were premium hiking boots w/ medium ankle support (lightweight) which I wore around town the preceding month to break them in. Bottom line, materials/equipment you can easily find cheap used, and fundraising is easy if you network and show your dedication. How did the climb influence your life? The climb was highly influential and inspirational, not just for me, but for my friends and family as well. Personally, it is a very unique and amazing experience to raise money for a cause like this, and then be able to meet the people in the clinics who you are directly helping. It inspired me to go on to get my MPH in Global Health from Tufts University School of Medicine, where I returned to Africa for a semester and worked on preventing blindness in Ghana, and lead to a job at Harvard University conducted community-based participatory research on disease prevention among vulnerable populations. The climb inflamed my passion for global health, social justice, and preventative medicine (and of course adventure!) and I'm now back in school working on my Doctor of Public Health degree in Epidemiology (study of the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health) and I have pioneered the first ever "doctorate-international" in which I will complete my epidemiology rotations through the Peace Corps. I will be embarking to Malawi for 2+ years starting in March to continue global health work, and completing Peace Corps service leads to eligibility for high-level global health positions in a career w/ the CDC. Much of this is due to the amazing experience I had in Tanzania with Mountains for Moms, not just as a resume booster (which is definitely is - it has absolutely contributed to me getting health sector jobs and graduate school admission) but it's also a very remarkable way to demonstrate passion, ability, determination, cooperation, and dedication to a cause.

Special thanks to Karina Kedo, Mountains for Moms President at Northwestern University for the interview!

Thoughts from a Freshman

COLLEGE IS EXCITING. I’ve heard it said, and now I believe it. You hear stories about all the awesome and crazy things that people do in college and you can’t help but itch to go on an adventure of your own, to get out there and make a difference.  Well, I’ve found my adventure.

Mountains for Moms is not a well-known organization. The only reason I knew about it was because my sister was part of it back when it went by the name of Fistula Free Climb. When I heard her talk about how she climbed one of the highest mountains in the world, and for a good cause to boot, all I was thinking was, “will I do something that cool when I go to college?”

I’m ensuring the answer to that question is yes. If you want to get out there and make a difference, waiting around isn’t an option. That’s why I’ve joined Mountains for Moms as a freshman. For now I’m doing fundraisers, writing emails to build awareness for obstetric fistula, brainstorming ideas to get the word out about our mission, and just trying to be useful (not the easiest thing for a freshman!). But before long, I’ll be going places, literally and figuratively.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from my few brief weeks at Cornell, it’s that the world is a huge place. There are several classes, dozens of information sessions, and hundreds of clubs that you can get involved with. Everything is thrown at you at a break-neck pace, and it’s hard to tell what’s important to you. So why did I join Mountains for Moms of all things?

THE CHALLENGE TO DO GOOD. It’s that simple. The coupling of a charity and a mountain to summit was perfect for me. There were many other things I could have signed up for, but I can’t imagine an organization that would be more rewarding. It’s tough to distinguish what you’ll want to spend time on, but this is beyond a doubt worth it. If you can’t get directly involved with the organization, read up on obstetric fistula and consider donating. Tell your friends about the condition and build awareness for a global health issue that is largely ignored.

That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve found my adventure. I’ve found my challenge. I’ve found my opportunity to do good. Maybe you’ve found something similar, or will in the future. For the sake of that thing, I’m asking you to help out with this cause, or if not this one something similar. A bunch of strangers and acquaintances talking up the cause or donating a few dollars can make all the difference in the world.

So thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks for anything you do to help anyone out in the future. It means a lot, even if you don’t always see the effects right away.

Luke Mehringer

Climb Mountains. Save Lives.

Welcome to the official Mountains for Moms blog. We are a group of ambitious and adventurous Cornellians who believe that we can change the lives of women through our combined efforts and drive. What are we doing to prove our dedication? We are climbing 

Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Have you heard of it? It's usually referred to as the "roof of Africa" and that is where you will find us this January.

"Why are you climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?"

Great question - we hear this a lot. We are climbing the mountain because 50,000-100,000 women are suffering right now, suffering due to a condition called obstetric fistula, and we believe that these woman can be saved. An obstetric fistula occurs in the birth canal of a woman after obstructed labor that can last over 24 hours (usually due to young pregnancies or lack to quality obstetric care). What results is a hole that leaves the woman incontinent for the rest of her life, leading to embarrassment, discomfort and social isolation from her family and village. However, with a simple surgery, the hole can be repaired, and the woman can lead a normal life. 

"So how are you actually saving their lives?"

That's where OperationOF comes in. Founded by a Cornell alum, Seth Cochran, it is a non-profit based out of London that provides these women with transportation to clinics, the surgery, rehabilitation, skills training and a small microfund to get them on their feet. OperationOF has established clinic with doctors in Malawi, Zambia, and is expanding into Madagascar. As we fundraise this fall, all proceeds will be going to OperationOF. You can find out more information on their website operationof.org.

$19,341

That's the amount of money we will be raising for these women. 

80

That's the number of women that we, a collection of completely different people from a whole myriad of places, can come together to SAVE.

98

That's the amount of days until we find ourselves in Tanzania, standing at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, ready to go. Bring it on.

Read more about us at www.strikingly.com/mountainsformomscornell or contact Kristen Barnett (kcb74@cornell.edu) with any questions.