In 2019 the Salesforce UK channel and alliances arranged a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for WorldReader, a fantastic charity dedicated to helping children through reading, technology and programming. Through this initiative a team of 9 raised more than USD $250k to go toward e-reading programs in Kenya. This experience was truly mind blowing, I will be forever grateful. I don’t think I could quite put it into words but I'll try.

There are seven established routes to the Kilimanjaro Summit. We hiked the Lemosho route, the most scenic trail with a modest 3% fatality rate. The entire journey took 8 days, walking 72 kilometers (44.7. miles) and scaling almost 6,000 meters (almost 20k feet) into the sky. For perspective, this is almost twice as high as New Zealand's largest mountain, Mt. Cook and almost 3,000 meters shy of Mt. Everest. The final ascent felt like we were scaling a skyscraper; the view from above the clouds was remarkable, personally I would do this trip again for the view alone.

We took several days to gradually acclimatize to altitude, by the time we hit 2,000 meters, hands and feet start to swell and turn purple and breathing becomes shallow. After we made camp on the 2nd night, we made a short trek on a steep incline directly up the mountain, roughly 500 meters higher to help acclimatize for the next day. As the main cause of fatality on the mountain, altitude sickness was taken very seriously. I know we all felt comfort that the experienced porters assisting our climb were diligent about making this a safe climb. An upside to spending long periods of time at altitude is that it promotes the generation of white blood cells in your body and for weeks after the climb I felt amazing. In addition to this, the high you feel when you descend as more oxygen fills your lungs is incredibly satisfying. The mental and physical wellness that came with this experience was a highlight for me and certainly worth mentioning.
Day four of the climb we set up camp at a central junction for several routes up the mountain, this was the busiest camp and the only place on the mountain with coverage. This point in the climb was memorable to me because I spoke to my brother back in New Zealand and he told me he had proposed to my now sister-in-law, which made my day.
The very next day we were faced with ‘The Wall’, the Wall is exactly what it sounds like, a giant wall in which we needed to scale over that day. Definitely the most technical part of the climb, the wall had us jumping over crevices and edging across the rock face to scale the obstacle.

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The team stops for a picture at Kilimanjaro National Park Gate.



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The porters would carry packs of up to 40kgs

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Woohoo! The team arrives at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.



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The ceremony after the fund raising grant.



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It is worth mentioning the porters who assisted our climb, while we each carried a 10kg pack each, porters would carry packs of up to 40kgs with much faster pace than us… carrying their load on their heads. They would race ahead, set up camp and prepare meals. This wasn’t a luxury trip, the necessary level of support from our porters only spoke to the conditions of the mountain. For a small wage, these men and women would risk their lives on a regular basis trekking Kilimanjaro with tourists like us, and while we trusted that workers were treated ethically by current standards, the disparity between our cultures was not lost on us. The kind hearted nature of our Tanzanian porters will remain a highlight in my memory.
<h3>Ready to help?</h3>

Worldreader works globally with partners to support vulnerable and underserved communities with digital reading solutions that help improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness, and gender equity.


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In 2019 the Salesforce UK channel and alliances arranged a trip up Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for WorldReader, a fantastic charity dedicated to helping children through reading, technology and programming. 

Looking for a unique way to spend your gap year? Why not volunteer in Africa! gain new skills, make new friends, and make a difference in the lives of others.


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WhereNext | Destination Africa

The UK Salesforce Alliances team arranged a volunteer (VTO) trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for the WorldReader charity.

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WhereNext | Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Tourist travel is back starting the 11th of October

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Shibuya Crossing is the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, with as many as 3,000 people crossing at a time

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Known for receiving the world's best powder snow throughout winter

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Japan reopens for tourism, tourist visa, accepted Covid-19 vaccines and other border rules for tourists visiting Japan – effective October 11

Japan reopens for Tourism

Yvon Chouinard, an inspirational company leader. 

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Los Glaciares National Park is located in the Southwest of Santa Cruz Province in the Argentine part of Patagonia.

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The famous brand started in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 catering for climbers

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Yvon Chouinard, the founder of outdoor clothing business Patagonia, is giving away the ownership of his US$3 billion company to fight climate change.

Patagonia's owner donates company

Saved from the brink of extinction since 2009

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Ecotourism has been a key driver to increase tiger populations

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Wild tigers in Nepal have clawed their way back from the brink of extinction. There are now almost three times as many wild tigers in the country as there were in 2009, according to the Nepalese government.

Tiger Populations Tripled in Nepal

Volunteering at Soi Dog Foundation supports their work in fighting the Asian dog meat trade

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Soi Dog also looks after the stray cats of Phuket

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This dog is being cared for and nursed back to health

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Volunteering at Soi Dog Foundation (Soi Dog) supports their work in fighting the Asian dog meat trade. They do this through a holistic approach of rescuing stray dogs and cats, sterilization, vaccination, medical treatment, shelter, and finally adoption.

Help End the Asian Dog Meat Trade

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Cutting beams to size for building the house frame

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Giving back to the community and team building for the Twilio APAC and Japan leadership organization

Building Houses (and Teams) in Cambodia

This volunteer experience assists Womb Stomp Wildlife who focus on rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wombats and kangaroos around the Windellama area in NSW.


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The young wombat on the left was born on Halloween, so her name is Boo, and her mother is called Poppy.

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A volunteer (VTO) experience to help protect wombats in NSW

Protecting Wombats in Australia

The kids staying at Asha Nepal during a celebration lunch

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Scenic shot of the valley outside of Asha Nepal with the snow capped mountains in the distance.


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A group shot of the volunteers before heading back to our home countries.

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A volunteer (VTO) experience where a group of Salesforce staff and friends travel to Nepal to help disadvantaged people live a better life

The Badi Project in Nepal

A baby pufferfish travels through a wondrous, microworld full of fantastical creatures as he searches for a home on the Great Barrier Reef.


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Puff, the sharp-nosed Pufferfish, is shown to be beginning his life in the Great Barrier Reef. Here, a world exists that’s smaller than our thumb. We see the intricate workings of nature.

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A baby pufferfish travels through a wondrous, microworld full of fantastical creatures as he searches for a home on the Great Barrier Reef.

Puff: Wonders of the Reef by Netflix

A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION FOCUSED ON GLOBAL REFORESTATION


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Planting 23 MILLION Trees 

Baby panda cubs in the nursery at the Bifengxia Panda Centre!

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In China's Sichuan province a round of hot pot that simultaneously burns and numbs the tongue.

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A volunteer experience working on Panda conservation in rural China. This trip was part of a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) project with Salesforce. 

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Mount Kilimanjaro Summit

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Mount Kilimanjaro Summit

Mount Kilimanjaro

Campsite on Mount Kilimanjaro

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Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Chris Thomas
Head of Customer Success at Ambit

Chris has extensive experience working with software companies including Salesforce for 8 years over 3 locations. Based in New Zealand, Chris is passionate about the outdoors and helping education charities in the developing world.

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Mount Kilimanjaro

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Chris ThomasHead of Customer Success at Ambit

Chris has extensive experience working with software companies including Salesforce for 8 years over 3 locations. Based in New Zealand, Chris is passionate about the outdoors and helping education charities in the developing world.

Recommended Reading

For business

Our charities

For business

Our charities

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Chris Thomas
Head of Customer Success at Ambit