Michael Muller
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I recently wrote that this January big name celebrities, including Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch, Isabel Lucas, and musicians like Kenna, Santigold and Lupe Fiasco, made it to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, all in the name of clean water.
And it's evident from the 90-minute documentary chronicling the journey, which will air on MTV at 9 p.m. on March 14, that no matter who you are, famous or not, the mountain doesn't care. The monstrous peak seems to reach all the way into outer space and it couldn't care less if you were in last summer's biggest blockbuster or if you made billboard's top ten. It chronicles celebrities, activists, and musicians alike who are scared senseless at the reality of the expedition. Trekkers, who in some cases hadn't even camped before, faced the stark reality of winds so cold that they can freeze your cornea and air so thin that it feels as if barbed wired had taken to your insides. Altitude sickness came in the form of brain swelling, nausea, shortness of breath, and maybe a little shear anger.
The expedition was the brainchild of Kenna, a successful musician born in Ethiopia who's father lost a brother and many other family members to water borne diseases. Kenna felt that he could have fallen victim to a truly preventable disease, one which effects 1 billion people per year. "We're representing people that can't represent themselves," he said.
The Summit on the Summit expedition, aptly named, brings attention to the alarming issue of clean water across the globe. In fact, every 15 seconds a child dies from a water borne disease. The expedition affords funding to the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW), an organization working tirelessly to provide clean water to children and their families all over the world.
Watch the trailer
More on Summit on the Summit:
Celebs and Activists to Summit Mount Kilimanjaro to Raise Water Crisis Awareness
Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch, and Alexandra Cousteau Climbing Kilimanjaro - Day 5
Alexandra Cousteau, Jessica Biel & Pete Wentz Announce Dow Live Earth 'Run For Water' (Video)
