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CHARLOTTE — In the wake of recent global disasters such as the tsunami in Japan, flooding in Pakistan, and the earthquake in Haiti, we are reminded that even the most basic human needs can be lacking for many people. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of all diseases on earth come from a lack of safe water and basic sanitation, and every 15 seconds a child dies from a waterborne illness. In fact, water-related diseases kill more people each year than all forms of violence including war. This is becoming a global crisis, yet most Americans do not realize just how large the problem is.

Pictured: Kraig Kern is pictured during a training climb overlooking a Colorado valley 14,000 feet below. He and his team took part in a training climb in Colorado in early May as a way to help simulate the conditions they will face on Mt. Kilimanjaro. (Photo provided by Kraig C. Kern)

I hope to help change that in some small way.

Earlier this year, I began a grassroots campaign called "Climb for Water" in an effort to raise awareness and financial assistance of the water and sanitation issues facing the developing world.

I wanted to fulfill a life-long dream to climb one of the tallest mountains on earth – Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania – and it quickly evolved into a desire to use my experience to help save lives. Through my work as the marketing director for WK Dickson & Co. Inc., a water resources engineering firm, I identified the charitable organization, Water for People, as the beneficiary of my efforts.

Water for People was recently named as one of the top 1 percent of all charities worldwide and is a global organization that helps people in developing countries improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources and sanitation facilities.

On Aug. 25 three other climbers and I will journey to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. At just under 20,000 feet, it is the world's tallest free-standing mountain. My goal is to raise the equivalent of $1 for every foot in elevation we achieve. That means when I reach the summit, the hope is to have gathered close to $20,000; we have raised $15,000 so far. According to the cost of a typical water project in underdeveloped countries, just the goal of the Climb for Water campaign alone has the potential to raise enough money to give more than 1,000 people clean drinking water for life through the use of wells, rain capture devices, and advanced water filtration.

The potential to save lives in the generations who follow is incalculable.

Most of us have never really been thirsty. We've never had to leave our houses and walk three hours just to fetch water. We simply turn on the tap, and water comes out ... clean. Yet there are a billion people on the planet who don't have clean water. That's nearly one out of every seven people.

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is dangerous – altitude sickness, lack of oxygen, pulmonary edemas, below-zero temperatures – and the trek itself has been compared to running a marathon uphill with a bag over your face. But when asked why I am attempting a climb of this magnitude, I tell people that it is a small price to pay to know that many more lives will be saved if clean water and a clean toilet are made available to the people who need them most.

After experiencing the affects of a water-borne illness first hand, I have never been more passionate about anything in my life. I really feel like I can make a difference.

— Kraig C. Kern is a parishioner of Holy Spirit Church in Denver and resident of Charlotte.

Follow the climbers

To learn what you can do to help Water for People or follow the Climb for Water team's progress, go to www.climbforwater.org. They can also be followed on Facebook by searching "Climb for Water."