Climbing to save lives

Twelve climbers from the U.S., Israel, Canada, Ethiopia and South Africa reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds to save 100 African children. The Israeli-based Save A Child's Heart, a non-governmental organization said in a statement that doctors, volunteers and supporters climbed Africa's highest peak in an effort to raise $1 million and save the lives of 100 African children in need of urgent heart surgery. It took six days of climbing under difficult conditions until the climbers reached the mountain top, Emma Hacohen project coordinator for the climb dubbed "Climb Your Heart Out: Mount Kiliminjaro 2011," said. "The climbers arrived from different countries, speak different languages and are various ages, but they all share the same goal, to save lives of the children in Africa," she said in a statement released by the organization on Monday. The aim of the organization is to provide life-saving heart surgery and follow-up care for children from Africa, Iraq, the West Bank and Gaza.