Greetings!
 
Thank you for visiting the fund raising page for Acumen Fund!

In Feb 2010,  I hiked/climbed up Africa's tallest mountain and the world's highest free standing volcano - Mount Kilimanjaro (19,331 ft). Climbing with me were my friends Muthu and Shankar. It was a challenging climb and I am excited to have completed this adventure.

The cause:

Four billion people on our little planet live on less than four dollars a day. They seek to live in dignity, equality and empowered independence. Not food handouts, aid grants and sympathy. The poorest have amongst them, some of the smartest entrepreneurs. One way to overcome poverty is to create new wealth by enabling those entrepreneurs.

So, as we reached the summit of Africa, we wanted to draw your attention to the potential and dreams of people who are impoverished only by the lack of money, not ideas.

Please help this cause any way you can!  The climb was fully self-funded. So every dollar you donate will go to the non-profit.

The non-profit:

We are raising money for the Acumen Fund. Acumen provides capital along with business knowledge to promising social entrepreneurs in East and Southern Africa, India and Pakistan.

In Nov 2007 during a visit to NYC, I had the pleasure of listening to Acumen founder, Jacqueline Novogratz. She wove wit with wisdom as she talked about her experiences working with an all-women run bakery in Rwanda. Her core messages: "Charity alone doesn't work" and "Africa needs role models" have stuck with me ever since.

To read about the Acumen fund,  visit their webpage - www.acumenfund.org/about-us/about-us.html

You can also watch Jackie speak here - www.youtube.com/watch

Also see Kevin Kwan's page - www.firstgiving.com/kevinkwan

Please spread the word around! Forward this to everyone you know. And do send your encouragement! They count just as much as your generous donations.

Thank you so much. Please visit my page again.

Arun

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