Alaniz-Harvey-Schneider Team

Dr. Anne Alaniz, J.B. Harvey, Alex Harvey, and Miranda Schneider have chosen to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to help the people of Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, with clean water and health care, two of the biggest problems in rural Malawi. They are raising funding for Child Legacy’s water well repair program as well as for Pothawira’s new Birthing Center.

Each team member’s goal is to raise $5000 for clean water making a combined clean water goal of $20,000 (enough to repair 16 broken village and school water wells benefitting around 32,000 people).

The Birthing Center will be funded through matching funds by an anonymous donor who will provide a 50% match up to a total donation of $10,000 for Pothawira (founded by Malawian Anne Alainiz and her father Peter).

So, for every dollar you donate towards Child Legacy’s extremely successful clean water ministry, Pothawira will receive 50 cents for their birthing Center! So a grand total of $30,000 is the goal to be raised! It’s a win-win for these two organizations!

J.B. and Alex will be the first brother-sister Clean Water Climb combo and Anne will be the first person besides the Clean Water Climb founder to be a 3-Peater!

Please read the team’s individual bios below!

Individual Bios

Anne Alaniz –

Climbing Kilimanjaro still remains one of the hardest things I have ever done other than un-medicated child birth. “Why climb Kilimanjaro for the third year in a row?” would be a natural question most people ask me. As most of you know, I grew up in a Malawi in a small village outside of Salima called Thonje. I grew up struggling for the basic needs of life such as clean water, health care and even access to a good education. I spent many early morning walks to collect water from a river where goats, cows, dogs, and other wild life shared the same drinking water with us. I shared one textbook with a class of over 20 students because that is all we had. Death was a common experience and often we would lose friends, classmates, family members to malaria and cholera, dysentery and many diseases due to contaminated water sources. Access to quality medical care was a luxury that was not given common villagers like us. With droughts, many would die of hunger, malnutrition and starvation. It was a time I felt forgotten by the rest of the world. In 1994, I got an opportunity of a lifetime when an American ER doctor Donna Ivey, who was on a short term medical mission trip, offered me a full scholarship to attend school in the United States. I am now a gynecologic oncologist and have since co-founded Pothawira (Safe Haven) which has outpatient medical care, birthing center, orphanage and a school for people around the village where I grew up who would otherwise have no access to those services. This is my story and it’s the story that has driven me to climb Kilimanjaro for the third time to bring clean water and healthcare access to my friends and family in Malawi who, like I did once, may feel forgotten by the rest of the world.

Other than being ranked the poorest country in the World, Malawi is also ranked as one of the worst places to be a mother because of the high maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and infant mortality. We have a little girl at our orphanage named Naomi. Her mother was 27 years old when she went into labor and had to walk a long distance to get to the nearest medical facility. Unfortunately, she delivered Naomi in a corn field on the side of the road, lost a lot of blood and died before she delivered Naomi’s twin. Naomi was brought to our orphanage with a rag tied to her umbilical cord stump dripping with blood and dirt. These stories are far too common in Malawi and the death of young women in childbirth a reality that is faced daily. As a women’s healthcare doctor in the United States of America who has seen the miracle of modern medicine and as a Malawian woman who was destined for this same fate, I refuse to accept the plight of Malawian women and children as a norm.

Our team’s goal is to raise for $30,000 toward clean water and for building an expectant women’s waiting shelter Pothawira (Safe Haven) in Salima, Malawi. This will allow women like Naomi’s mother to have place closer to the birthing center to await child birth in their last weeks of pregnancy.

I refuse to accept that there are still villages with thousands of people who have no access to clean water. I refuse to accept that child birth should remain a life and death decision for young women in Malawi. I refuse to accept the reality that many Malawian mothers and children are dying simply because they were born in a poor country. The pain of climbing Kilimanjaro seems minor in comparison to the pain that many of my friends and family continue to feel daily. I want them to know that they will never be forgotten by me. As long as I can, I will climb for them. Join us in meeting our goal.

J.B. Harvey –

Hi, my name is J.B. and I’d like to take a moment to explain to you why you should help solve the water crisis in Malawi. I apologize in advance for my excessive use of numbers. I recently graduated college with an engineering degree and am pursuing a graduate degree in bioinformatics, so numbers flow into my vernacular rather easily.

The Problem: Malawi is a country with 75% of its population living under the poverty line that has many infrastructure deficiencies regarding access to water. For these people, access to clean water is not universal. Only 4.2% of schools have stations with soap and water. Furthermore, 43% of the rural population doesn’t have access to adequate water for sanitation needs at home. As a result, the rate of spread of disease and subsequent mortality is elevated, killing nearly 1700 children every year. These numbers qualify Malawi as a water-stressed country by the US Agency of International Development and make it a top priority by the Malawi government. Advancements in other technologies are supporting a population growth that is decreasing the per capita access to water, making this an even bigger issue soon if it is not addressed.

A Proposed Solution: As stated early, it is considered a top concern by the Malawi government, and many governments are trying to help. However, these efforts only go so far. This is where help from you comes in. The clean water project works to build wells but can only do so through the generosity of people such as yourself. Here a little can go a long way. $1 will supply clean water to 1-2 people for 5 to 10 years. A bigger jump, $1250 dollars, will cover the complete repair of a well that can supply a whole village of 2,000 people.

Please look at the blessings in your life and see take advantage of this opportunity to help make a better world. As I said before, every bit counts and if you’re visiting this site it’s because you already care.

Thank You,

J.B.

Alex Harvey –

Personal Life: If I had to describe myself in five words, I would choose warmhearted, adventurous, reliable, faithful, and altruistic. I am currently a second year student at the University of Arkansas majoring in psychology with a minor in chemistry, and I hope to one day pursue a career in the medical field. I have two brothers, one will also be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with me. I would not be the person I am today without the guidance of my parents. They have instilled in me the values and morals to have when going out into the world. Through them, I have learned the importance of seeking God, serving others, and valuing family. I am enthusiastic to implement these life lessons as I conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro and have the opportunity to support others.

Clean Water Climb: David McCullough Jr. once said, “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” This quote is a great illustration for the reasoning behind my journey this coming June. There’s more to this climb then the acknowledgement of reaching the top. A mountain symbolizes achievement, just as our climb represents the goal we are trying to achieve of reducing the lack of access to clean drinking water in Malawi. The struggles the people of Malawi have had to face to get their water I feel will be theoretically similar to my climb. I will have to face long walks to get to the camps each night to rest as they have had to walk to find clean water. The lack of everyday comforts I am accustomed to will not be available during the climb helping to show me only a miniscule amount of what they have had to endure. Emergency care will be available during the climb, but it will not be as easy to access like at home. I will have to wait for the care to come to me and then give me access to what I need as they do when waiting for visiting physicians. Reaching the peak of the mountain will be symbolic of the Malawi people’s gaining more wells to obtain freshwater. The challenges of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro will in no way equal their struggles, but it will allow me a chance to step out of my comfortable life and gain appreciation firsthand to the work others have to endure for the same things I take for granted in my ease to its access.

What I am Looking Forward to: I have many reasons I am excited about this journey. First, I am looking forward to strengthening my faith in God. I feel this past year I have let the endeavors of school take priority over practicing my faith. I feel climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro will be a unique source in my path to reconcile my relationship with the Lord. The challenges I face will teach me how to fully trust in the Lord. As he helps guide me to the top of the mountain, this will aid me to more clearly envision his plans for my life in his service and strengthen my faith in my everyday life. My second objective I look forward to is building an even better relationship with my brother. The time we will spend together will strengthen the bridge we have built as we find our adult lives outside our nuclear family as the gaps widen in our pursuits. Lastly, my goal to raise awareness and funds for clean water in Malawi is the culminating piece bringing together all of my objectives I am looking forward to accomplishing. As I learned from my parent’s, life is bigger than ourselves, and the truest life is the fulfillment, meaning, and joy found in the service of others.

Miranda Schneider –

I am 20-years old and currently attending Texas Tech University. I was born and raised in Spring, TX and graduated from Klein Oak High School. While in high school I was a member of the National Honor Society, Math Club, Diamond Girls, and played on the Varsity Volleyball team. I am finishing my fourth semester at Texas Tech University and will be applying to Tech’s nursing school this summer. Presently, I sit on the executive board of my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and hold the position of Vice President of Recruitment. Additionally, I volunteer at the hospital and tutor kids every week. At the hospital I work with the transport nurse which allows me to see all the different units within the hospital. On Tuesdays, I volunteer at the Women’s Protective Shelter in Lubbock and tutor the middle and high school kids who live there with their moms. The small amount I do for them brings a little hope into their lives and joy into mine. I have always had a passion for helping others and shining my light. This passion is what helped me to receive the 2016 Presidential Volunteer Award.

Mission work has always been something I admired and when I was given the opportunity to go to Malawi, I knew it was an opportunity of a life time that I could not turn down. Our Mission in Malawi is twofold; we will be repairing existing water wells and working at the local hospital. While in Africa, we will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for villages in Malawi so they may have clean water to drink. The climb will challenge me both mentally and physically, but I know it’s going to help me learn things about myself that I have yet to discover.

I cannot begin to express the excitement I feel when I think about the work we are going to do in Malawi and the opportunity to learn about the culture, the people, and myself. Lastly, but not least, I look forward to sharing love, hope, and the word of God with the people we encounter.