Hi Everyone,
All team members summited Kilimanjaro on 16 September!!
The expedition was a resounding success thanks to a hard working, passionate team and of course our amazing Tanzanian support crew. 108 crew members supporting this expedition.
This expedition was so special in many ways. The team of biotech professionals raised $ 2.2 million to support Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) early detection and treatment in Africa, including Tanzania and SCD research at the University of Alabama Birmingham.
Team member Jimi Olaghere, the 4th person in the world to be cured of SCD with the CRISPR gene editing process summited Kilimanjaro, setting a world record. The 39 year old business owner and father from Atlanta has become an inspiration for everyone suffering from SCD. He is a powerful example of the human spirit and the potential for biotech. Read more here.
The Beneficiary organization making all this work in Africa possible, is called Sickle Forward, based in South Carolina. Founder and executive director Alan Anderson has devoted his life to caring for SCD patients as a highly specialized MD and director of the comprehensive sickle cell disease program at Prisma Health in Greenville, SC. With the launch of his non profit, Sickle Forward, Alan is expanding his reach to Africa. His mission is to advance screening, diagnosis and treatment of SCD in Africa.
I am proud and thankful to be a part of the hugely successful Timmerman Traverse charity expeditions. To date Luke Timmerman’s visionary model has raised more than $12 million dollars to support organizations working hard to make the world a better place.
Eric Murphy
Expedition Leader and Guide
