Becky Gray: Conquered Kilimanjaro for PoP
Meet Becky Gray, a geography teacher in Tanzania who summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa to raise money for PoP.
Our last Featured Campaigner, Niamh, was in the midst of biking across the United States to raise funds for Pencils of Promise. Becky Gray, a geography teacher in Tanzania, took on another extreme physical challenge for PoP; instead of traveling cross-country, however, her efforts were directed upwards.
To fundraise for PoP, Becky climbed Mount Kilimanjaro — the highest mountain in Africa — with a group of 14-year-old students.
She received sponsorship to climb the mountain, so when she reached the summit (19,336 feet — no biggie!), it was with supporting PoP in mind.
“It was extremely hard work and I might have been tempted to give up if I wasn’t raising money for PoP,” she said.
“I originally heard about PoP from a very good friend, Deb Youngdahl, who did an internship with PoP in New York. She was so enthusiastic about the work that you guys were doing that I couldn’t help but get involved to support both her and the organization.”
Becky’s background and current profession opened her eyes to the significance of education, which is what drew her toward PoP in the first place.
“As a Geography Teacher in Tanzania, this has enabled me to further recognize the importance of education and highlighted how many people do not have access to even the basics. The impact of education is huge — it controls population growth, poverty levels, malnourishment levels and so much more. Everyone is entitled to an education and this is the least I can do to try to bridge the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.”
Becky told us that her life motto is “I am the Master of my fate, I am the Captain of my soul”, which comes from the poem Invictus.
“It reminds me that I am in control of my life and am fortunate enough to be able to make the decisions that affect me and that I should appreciate that every day.”
Becky made an inspiring (and super athletic!) decision to conquer “Kili” for PoP, and her campaign efforts will help us climb the metaphorical mountain to bringing quality education to all children, everywhere.
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Visit Becky’s campaign page:
