Cara Scharf - Summit to See the END: Kilimanjaro 2015

As many of you may know, this summer I am lucky enough to be working for the END Fund, an organization dedicated to the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

NTDs are a group of parasitic and bacterial infectious diseases that affect over 1.5 billion of the world's impoverished people, including 800 million children. They cause severe pain, long-term disability, and are the cause of death for over 500,000 people per year. Among children, infection leads to malnutrition cognitive impairment, stunted growth, and the inability to attend school. Adults suffer from social isolation and are unable to work, and anemia caused by NTDs increase the risk of maternal mortality.

Low-cost treatments for NTDs have shown to dramatically increase school attendance, improve health and well-being, and increase access to economic opportunities over time.

In addition to many other interesting and exciting aspects of this work, one of the things that I am most looking forward to is the chance to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this July.  While this will certainly be a great personal challenge for me, it is also an incredible opportunity to raise funds and awareness about NTDs.  

As a Public Health student at Johns Hopkins, I have spent my entire academic career learning about diseases such as these, as well as policies and programs that address this disease burden.  I could not be more excited for this opportunity to not only put my academic knowledge to use, but more importantly, to learn even more about NTDs and the amazing work that the END Fund and their partners are doing to treat and eliminate them. 

I am incredibly grateful for your support as I work towards my goal of raising $40,000 for the END Fund!