A group of Pella residents has successfully finished their climb of the world’s tallest freestanding mountain.

Tim Tripp, Eric Recker, and Mark Van Roekel ascended Mt. Kilimanjaro last month to help raise funds for improvements to a school in Kigoma, Tanzania through the non-profit organization Hope of the Nations.

Recker says the climb overall was a success, both for the group reaching the peak of Kilimanjaro, and for the students they intend to help, who are receiving lifesaving help and spiritual guidance in the classroom.

The group was gone for two weeks on the climb and making a visit to the school of over 150 students at the primary school, with the majority of attendees being orphans or social orphans. Hear more from the Hope of the Nations’ climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro on KNIA/KRLS.