Climbing Beyond Cartels- Rory Smith

OUTDOOR ED. ARTICLE ASSIGNMENT #4

Climbing Beyond Cartels- Rory Smith

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A truly refreshing article, advertising an organisation that is changing the world around us for the better, teaching us not to take everything for granted. Amazing!

             Children in Mexico face problems more drastic than not finishing your homework, or getting in fights with friends; instead they need to fight for their lives each day, something that people like us in Canada cannot even fathom to understand. In a country that faces struggles such as extreme poverty, domestic abuse, and drug cartels, children are not used to hearing the phrase ‘what are your plans for the future’. It’s a tragic situation that a small company is ready to fight. Climbing Borders is a rock climbing organisation that strives for kids to reach their goals. Their hope: to use climbing and the outdoors to encourage and build skills in at-risk youth to take them away from drugs, gangs, and organised crime.

            One of the activities we are fortunate enough to take part in during the outdoor ed. course is visiting Altitude gym to go rock climbing. It is one of my favorite things we have done this year.  Each time I set higher, more difficult goals and challenge myself to work harder telling myself that I can do it. When I searched for articles on climbing, I could never have imagined finding the one that I did. When I think of Mexico I think of a beautiful place, not the one described in the article, and it really made me rethink things. When things are not happening around you, they aren’t as important because they are not affecting you, but watching the video and seeing the write up really did affect me. The change that this organisation is making is so incredible and I am so happy to have come across this. The fact that they are influencing thousands of lives so easily is so special; by just using encouraging words they are building futures. It shows us that we really need to appreciate what we have here in Canada, and that even the smallest thing can change somebody’s life I’ve never been so hopeful in an organisation; unforgettable!

I recommend to everyone to read this article and support the organisation by donating to the indiegogo campaign, which is raising money to build a rock gym in Mexico.

Smith, R. (2014). Climbing Beyond Cartels. [online] Beyond the Edge. Available at: http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/08/climbing-beyond-cartels/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].