Thornhill resident Helen Silverstein had been trying to do something “great,” as she put it, every month in the year leading up to her 60th birthday, but she wasn’t sure how to mark the milestone birthday itself, which falls Oct. 10.
When a friend suggested Silverstein join her in October on a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Jerusalem-based Shalva, the Association for Mentally and Physically Disabled Children in Israel, Silverstein, a mother of three and grandmother of three, thought it was the perfect fit.
Though her friend ended up having to back out of the trip, Silverstein remained determined to go.
“It’s a way to celebrate my health in fitness in the process of taking care of others… It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one I’ve chosen for myself. If I have a fraction of the drive and spirit of the kids [that Shalva helps], I’ll be able to do it,” Silverstein said enthusiastically.
On Oct. 18, she’ll join a team of about 30 Jews primarily from the United Kingdom and Israel on the eight-day, 5,895-metre trek up to the mountain’s summit. Each participant has committed to raising a minimum of the equivalent of $10,000 (Cdn) for Shalva, which provides care and services to more than 500 children and youth with disabilities regardless of ethnicity or background.
Shalva is headquartered in Jerusalem but serves people throughout Israel, explained Gaby Hirsch, chief executive of British Friends of Shalva and the climb’s co-ordinator.
Hirsch said Shalva is in the process of building a new $47-million (US) national centre in Jerusalem that will be a place for infants, children and young adults with special needs to receive treatment and access educational and recreational opportunities.
She noted she initially thought the trek, the first of its kind for Shalva, would only be attended by people from the United Kingdom, but word spread, and the group of participants is now largely split between Israelis and Brits, plus a few Canadians.
Silverstein said she’s raised half of the targeted amount so far from individual donors and will soon begin asking companies for support.
“I’ve been telling my friends I don’t want birthday cards or for them take me out for lunch for my birthday. If they want to celebrate me, [sponsoring my climb] is the way to do it,” she said.
Though she’s always been active, Silverstein knows the climb will require serious endurance, and that reduced oxygen levels caused by high altitudes will likely be a challenge.
She described her training regimen so far as fairly “eclectic.”
To break in her hiking boots, she’s been wearing them on excursions to the grocery store, or out for a walk and in addition to doing some running, she’s been practising yoga five days a week as way to “get into the right headspace” for the trek.
“People say it’s a mental challenge as much as it is a physical challenge. Yoga also helps with flexibility, and I’ll be sleeping on the ground in a tent for eight nights. Plus, there are no toilets, so I’ve got to practice my squat,” Silverstein laughed.
As far as she knows, she’s going to be the oldest woman on the trip, but not the oldest person: she has heard that a 69-year-old man is participating.
“I’m used to be the oldest woman doing things,” Silverstein mused.
She said that while her family and friends are extremely proud of her, none wanted to join her on the trek.
Still, she enthused: “It’s kind of cool when you go and do something like this and don’t know a soul. It really lets you connect in a way you otherwise wouldn’t.”
CORRECTION: This story was modified from its original form published in print on Sept. 17. In that version, Helen Silverstein is incorrectly referred to as Helen 'Silverman'.