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He'll climb the tallest mountain to fight AIDS
By PAUL BOURGEOIS
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Some people climb a mountain just because it's there, but Vijay Devarajan has a better reason.
The 25-year-old Arlington native plans to climb Africa's tallest peak, Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, to help his company raise about $500,000 to support an AIDS clinic in Kenya.
Devarajan, a 2000 graduate of Martin High School, aims to raise $6,000. He will be among 90 employees of Accenture, a technology consulting company, to climb the 19,340-foot Uhuru Peak in July.
Aside from raising money, Devarajan said the idea is to draw attention to the AIDS crisis, particularly in Africa.
"There's a certain lack of understanding of the plight of Africa in general," he said. "A story like this is another way to open people's eyes as to how bad it is out there. The number of kids with AIDS in Africa is just astounding."
An estimated 2 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, and only 1 in 10 receive treatment, according to the United Nations AIDS Program.
Kilimanjaro, which has three volcanic peaks, is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
Devarajan said that scaling Kilimanjaro is more a steep hike than a climb but that the thin air still makes it a challenge.
He said he's working on strength and endurance training for the climb, set for July 22-28. The idea, he said, is to train as if for a half-marathon.
He said two things drew him to the project: wanting to help children with AIDS, and the opportunity to follow the lead of Bono, the frontman of the Irish rock band U2 who is active in humanitarian causes around the world. "U2 is my favorite band of all time, and Bono is active with AIDS in Africa," Devarajan said.
Venkat Devarajan said his eldest son has an adventurous streak.
"Once he jumped out of a perfectly fine airplane," Venkat Devarajan said. "But it pleases me that he has a streak in him that wants to do some good."
Vijay Devarajan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. He has worked for Accenture since January 2005.
Accenture works with VSO, a charity based in the United Kingdom that helps combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. For several years, VSO has organized fundraisers like the Kilimanjaro trek.
Devarajan has raised about a third of his pledge goal. None of the money will be used for his own expenses.
SCALING KILIMANJARO
For more information or to make a donation, visit:
http://www.justgiving.com/vijayvdevarajan
www.vso.org.uk/news/accenture_kili_challenge.asp
[Note to Dallas area Vertigo folks - This guy's brother is the one who went on stage to play Angel of Harlem and swapped shades with Bono.]
He'll climb the tallest mountain to fight AIDS
By PAUL BOURGEOIS
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Some people climb a mountain just because it's there, but Vijay Devarajan has a better reason.
The 25-year-old Arlington native plans to climb Africa's tallest peak, Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, to help his company raise about $500,000 to support an AIDS clinic in Kenya.
Devarajan, a 2000 graduate of Martin High School, aims to raise $6,000. He will be among 90 employees of Accenture, a technology consulting company, to climb the 19,340-foot Uhuru Peak in July.
Aside from raising money, Devarajan said the idea is to draw attention to the AIDS crisis, particularly in Africa.
"There's a certain lack of understanding of the plight of Africa in general," he said. "A story like this is another way to open people's eyes as to how bad it is out there. The number of kids with AIDS in Africa is just astounding."
An estimated 2 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, and only 1 in 10 receive treatment, according to the United Nations AIDS Program.
Kilimanjaro, which has three volcanic peaks, is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
Devarajan said that scaling Kilimanjaro is more a steep hike than a climb but that the thin air still makes it a challenge.
He said he's working on strength and endurance training for the climb, set for July 22-28. The idea, he said, is to train as if for a half-marathon.
He said two things drew him to the project: wanting to help children with AIDS, and the opportunity to follow the lead of Bono, the frontman of the Irish rock band U2 who is active in humanitarian causes around the world. "U2 is my favorite band of all time, and Bono is active with AIDS in Africa," Devarajan said.
Venkat Devarajan said his eldest son has an adventurous streak.
"Once he jumped out of a perfectly fine airplane," Venkat Devarajan said. "But it pleases me that he has a streak in him that wants to do some good."
Vijay Devarajan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. He has worked for Accenture since January 2005.
Accenture works with VSO, a charity based in the United Kingdom that helps combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. For several years, VSO has organized fundraisers like the Kilimanjaro trek.
Devarajan has raised about a third of his pledge goal. None of the money will be used for his own expenses.
SCALING KILIMANJARO
For more information or to make a donation, visit:
http://www.justgiving.com/vijayvdevarajan
www.vso.org.uk/news/accenture_kili_challenge.asp
[Note to Dallas area Vertigo folks - This guy's brother is the one who went on stage to play Angel of Harlem and swapped shades with Bono.]
