It is unusual for someone who’s almost 60-years-old, unfit and with no hiking experience whatsoever to declare that he’s going to scale one of the highest mountains on the planet.
But that’s just exactly what Richmond dentist Salim Kamani did last December, when he vowed to tackle Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro with his 26-year-old daughter, Safiya, to raise awareness and money for the Alzheimer Society of B.C.
The big event, called “Anything for Alzheimer’s,” is now just a few weeks away and Kamani, who practices out of Coppersmith Dental Centre in south Richmond, has revealed how he’s been shaping up since deciding to take on Kilimanjaro’s 19,341 feet ascent.
“After I took on this cause last December, I only started to train then,” said Kamani, who recently turned 60.
“Prior to that, I didn’t do any hiking; very little fitness actually as I was in a car accident a few years ago.
“But little by little, I’ve been working up the hiking and I now get out there three or four times a week, I’ve done the Black Tusk at Garibaldi Provincial Park and I have a personal trainer.”
Samani said he was motivated to do something to help fight Alzheimer’s after seeing a marked rise in recent years of suffering at the hands of the disease in his patients, their caregivers, their family members and friends.
“I see younger and younger people being affected by it all the time and I thought it was about time I did something about this terrible, debilitating disease,” he added.
“I’ve been in practice for 35 years and the percentage of people I meet that are affected is increasing. I felt compelled to raise more awareness and money.”
Talking of which, although an upcoming fundraiser in Vancouver for Samani’s cause is sold out, he and his daughter are well short of raising their target of $50,000.
“The reaction from people I know has been very encouraging, but I do need to raise more money!”
One hundred per cent of all donations will go to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. If you’d like to donate, email Samani at [email protected].
Samani and his daughter fly out for Kilimanjaro on Sept. 7, with the ascent and descent taking place from the 10th to the 18th.
“I feel a little nervous, but also excited at the same time; there are different thoughts going through my head right now.”
Funds raised from Anything for Alzheimer’s events support programs and services in the province that improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and their families, as well as helping to fund research into the causes and cures.
For more information on Anything for Alzheimer’s, go online to AnythingForAlzheimers.ca.
