Man and Daughter Scale Mt. Kilimanjaro for Orphans

August 2008

Clark and Anna Spoden at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro

Nashville attorney Clark Spoden and his 17 year old daughter, Anna, took the challenge of a lifetime and blessed the children at Treasures of Africa in Moshi, Tanzania. Raising money for both TOA and an orphanage in Sudan as well, the pair successfully scaled the highest peak on the African continent in June.

Anna, an honors student who will be a high school senior in the Fall, was the impetus behind the climb. Athletic, and with a love for other cultures, she has already traveled to several foreign countries on missions trips. She suggested climbing Kilimanjaro over breakfast one day. Her father says, “I always wanted to do it, I knew it was climbable... but if she hadn’t said ‘I want to climb Kilimanjaro,’ it wouldn’t have happened.”

They put together a website www.kiliclimb4kids2008.com to solicit donations for the two orphanages. They also held a special fundraiser in Nashville in May. They raised a total of just over $9,000 which was divided between the orphans at TOA in Tanzania and those living at St. Bartholomew’s in Southern Sudan.

Anna says one of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home where she and her father spent time with the kids. She said in amazement, “.... most of the kids there were happier than some of my friends! It made me realize how thankful we need to be for what we have here.”