Climbing Kilimanjaro and partnering with KHC to bring safe, clean drinking water to communities in Rwanda.

Each day, 5,000 children die from water-related illnesses. In fact, lack of clean water is the leading cause of preventable death in the world -- and each year, diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people than all forms of violence, including war. Moreover, women and children usually bear the brunt of water collection, walking as much as three hours each day to collect water that is often contaminated. The time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work, and taking care of their families.

Yet bringing clean water to communities is also incredibly simple and relatively inexpensive. Indeed, one hand-dug well can cost as little as a few thousand dollars, yet can provide access to safe, clean water to hundreds of people of years to come.

Our goal: $62,000. That's enough to fully fund two community water projects, including tap stands, water committees, and sanitation and hygiene programs in the Rulindo District of Rwanda. To do it, we're asking for help from our friends, family, and even businesses from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2014. And we're not just sitting around, either: to help raise awareness, we'll be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this August.

The KiliMaji Project is excited to fundraise on behalf of charity: water, an innovative New York City-based non-profit organization that works directly with local communities to build sustainable clean water wells. 100% of the money raised by The KiliMaji Project and all funds collected by charity: water will be used to fund clean water solutions in Rwanda. Once our wells are complete in early 2016, we'll also post GPS coordinates and satellite images so you can see the Project in action.

The KiliMaji Project also thanks Kinseth Hospitality Companies for their generous provision of fundraising support through their hotels and restaurants across the Midwest. In addition to using this page, you can also donate by visiting the front desk of any KHC property. For a complete listing, visit http://www.kinseth.com.

To learn more about the KiliMaji Project, visit our website at http://www.kilimajiproject.org. You can also like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kilimajiproject or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KiliMajiProject.