COLUMBUS, Ind. — A fourth grade teacher in Columbus will miss some class time at the start of the next semester. Mark Yeaton is going to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent.
Yeaton carries a 25-pound backpack while teaching at Columbus Southside Elementary School to train for his fundraising climb next month. The elevation is almost 20,000 feet. Yeaton is raising $20,000 to build a medical clinic in a rural area near Kisumu, Kenya. Mt. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania near the Kenyan border.
"It's just a really hard uphill walk,” said Yeaton, who is also hiking, biking, and running long distances to prepare for the challenge. “And you have the elements, because one thing nature's always trying to do is kill you."
Bikes are all over his classroom: a small model sitting on a ledge, on posters, in photos, even a full-size bike hanging from the ceiling. Mark has raised money for several charities with long-distance rides. This hike will take him from rain forest to desert, past glaciers to the frozen cap. The round trip is planned for three days up, three days down, with a temperature drop from 70 to 5 degrees.
Yeaton has taught in Columbus for 38 years. He tries to give his fourth graders an understanding and appreciation of the great big world, and that life in Columbus is much different halfway around the world.
"They have more global awareness than I think a lot of other fourth graders,” Yeaton said. “Fourth grade - traditionally Indiana. Well, let's kind of branch out and look at the whole world. See what else is out there."
Mark is raising money through FAME, a Christian medical evangelism organization with a warehouse headquarters on Southeastern Avenue in Indianapolis.
"What you see are donated medical supplies and equipment that come to us,” said FAME executive director Bill Warren, giving a tour of the facility. “And then in return, we process them and ship them out to our partners around the world."
Some of the equipment may wind up in the clinic Yeaton is helping to build in Kenya. He previously rode his bike to raise money to build a well in Kenya. He likes projects that have a lasting impact and continue to help communities in need.
"We live in a country where we are so blessed,” Yeaton said. “We have everything. Why not help others just a little? If everyone would help a little, that would help a lot."
Yeaton begins his climb Jan. 14. You can support him and learn how to donate medical supplies and equipment through FAME.