This month, 14-year-old Ryan Baki will embark on an incredible adventure: Hiking to the peak of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world—the 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. But he isn't doing it just for the experience; it's the linchpin of his efforts to raise money for a global charity that benefits people in third-world countries.
He arrived at this point through a convergence of several disparate life experiences. Here's how they all came together.
Among his many activities at Moravian Academy is membership in the "Operation Smile" club, which promotes that international charity. The nonprofit medical service was founded in 1982 by Dr. William (Bill) P. Magee, Jr. and his wife Kathy after an overwhelming medical volunteer trip to the Philippines. Far more people needed reparative surgery for cleft palates or cleft lips than their small group could provide. That inspired the couple to create the organization that has since repaired well over 200,000 instances of the facial deformity in children and adults.
An unrepaired cleft palate can lead to a lifetime of issues with feeding, breathing, and social acceptance. If you've never seen anyone with a cleft palate, it's probably because, in the US, the condition is easily remedied shortly after birth. But people in poorer countries often lack the money or access needed for the procedure.
As Ryan neared ninth grade, talk turned to their next challenge – and they chose Mt. Kilimanjaro. "When we reviewed the ninth-grade curriculum, we agreed we should support a charity. Ryan wants to be a dentist, and when he learned about Operation Smile, he decided to use the trip to raise money for it," Fayez said.
Their trek will be arduous. "Technically, Kilimanjaro is not a difficult climb," Fayez said. "It's more about perseverance and dealing with the elements.
During their seven-day trip, the Bakis (and the rest of their group) will pass through five distinct climate zones. Temperatures can be as balmy as 70°F at the base…and drop to a bone-chilling -20°F at the summit. The air's oxygen level drops dramatically as you go higher; at the peak, it can be 50% less than at the base. In fact, the mountain creates its own weather, and climbers are cautioned that it's completely unpredictable.
The final leg of their journey will begin at midnight, so they can reach the summit before the sun rises too high. "At that elevation, it's extremely cold, but the sun is very intense. We will stay there only about 30 minutes before starting back down," Fayez said.
Father and son have set up their own training regimes to prep for the hike. Ryan spends an hour on cardio training at the gym every other day (bike and treadmill, for example) and plays soccer after school to build up his strength, endurance, and wind; Fayez concentrates on basic cardio – "I play a lot of sports," he says, "mainly tennis," and, when we spoke, he said he planned to ramp up his intensity as the climb draws nearer.