Mt Kilimanjaro Charity Climb for Down Syndrome‏ #Climb4DS

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By Adedotun Eyinade

Dear All,

I trust that this meets you well.

I will, in the next six days, starting from today Monday 18^th August be on a charity hike to the Uhuru summit of Mt Kilimanjaro with two other professionals in a bid to deepen awareness around Down syndrome in Nigeria and to raise funds for the Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria (DSFN).  

I consider the hike a transformational experience that will test our mental and physical constitution.  For those of us who have volunteered to undertake the challenge, Climb for Down Syndrome, is more than an adventure, it is a modest attempt at extracting meaning out of the seemingly mundane.

My motivation to use the hike to raise funds for Down syndrome stems from my concern for the plight of persons living with the condition in Nigeria. Often times, they are estranged and treated with disdain by the public. Without their consent, the word imbecile has been appropriated for them. It is worse that they came into the world with a condition for which they bear no responsibility. In Nigeria, they have the extra burden of having to live with the painful reality that is stigmatization.  

I am constrained to recall a childhood neighbor Muyiwa, my erstwhile namesake through whom I had my first and most indelible encounter with Down syndrome. 

My most vivid recollection of Muyiwa was that of a hapless teenager, an unending object of pity in the neighborhood, deprived of early formal education because of the dearth of specialized schools around him that catered to his condition. 

Whether he had the support and care of his immediate family I couldn’t say but I often debated whether the community accepted him as one of its own or just an imbecilic outsider-the ubiquitous other- who was always on hand to provide comic relief and stir pity parties occasionally. 

Like most people in Nigeria who have relatives with the conditions, I resorted to distancing myself from Muyiwa through the only bond we had in common - our first name.  I confess, to my eternal embarrassment, that I made my folks change my first name to Adedotun as my own feeble attempt to dissociate myself from my well known yet ridiculed namesake, Muyiwa.

20 odd years after, I now know better. I know that Down syndrome is not caused by some infernal forces that are we often implicate when the condition appears in a child. An extra chromosome is the culprit that brings untold pain to these individuals. 

I am now aware, to my relief, that those with the condition can live relatively normal lives with proper care and specialized attention. I also find it gratifying that there are a few credible charities in Nigeria like the Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria for whom we are fund raising that work to provide succor and care for people with the condition.

As I depart for the 6-day hike, I ask that you spare some thoughts for folks with the condition like my childhood neighbor, Muyiwa.  Beyond a thought, I ask that you begin to explore better ways of engaging with individuals with Down syndrome, and their families with the sensitivity and empathy that the condition requires. I would quickly recommend that you commence this exploration by joining the ongoing conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #Climb4DS.

The goal of Climb for Down Syndrome apart from bringing the issue to the front burners of public discourse outside the traditional haunts- Children’s day celebration and the yuletide season- is to raise a modest sum of N10,000,000 ($60,000) for the Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria to support its ongoing efforts in ameliorating the realities of those with the condition. I invite you to donate directly to the bank account of the charity: 

Down Syndrome Foundation.

First Bank Plc. 2019743042.

Tin Can Island Branch

or donate online via 234give.com here

I and my co-hikers will be off the grid for the most part of the six days. You can however follow update of our hike on our blog, @charityinspire and on Facebook.  Our official hashtag is #Climb4DS

While I hope for a hitch-free hike, I take along with me your thoughts, prayers and best wishes. I also draw comfort from the thoughts of Ben Carson: “Happiness does not result from what we get but from what we give.” 

During the tiring 6 hours daily hike through the Machame route, I will remember that you are cheering us on with your donations, tweets, retweets, messages and prayers in our modest effort to better the realities of a vulnerable community.

Kind regards,

Adedotun Eyinade