Going to the tap or simply pressing a button on the fridge to fill up a cup with water seems like a simple task, largely taken for granted… in this country, anyway. While it would be hard to imagine the US not having access to clean water, many other countries and demographic groups are not so lucky.

On another note, to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,343 ft) would be quite a feat. While it is not as high as the tallest peak on the planet, Mt Everest (29,029 ft), climbing it would be an arduous task. It is rumored that some have even gone so far as to have their wedding ceremony on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I personally wouldn’t recommend that. For one, I could picture intense frostbite setting in when you have to pull off your gloves to exchange wedding rings. Additionally, what if one of the members of the wedding party was to suffer from altitude sickness?

To put two and two together, a group of musicians, actors and actresses, as well as environmental stewards climbed Mt Kilimanjaro to raise money for clean water for poverty stricken areas in the world. This group included water expert and explorer, Alexandra Costeau, whose grandfather Jaques-Yves Costeau was a pioneer in environmental awareness. Recently she traveled to five continents for 100 days around the world to explore the sites of our planet’s biggest water issues and concerns.

Other climbers in the group were actress, Jessica Biel. She is most famous for co-starring in movie, The Illusionist with Edward Norton. She also starred on family television series 7^th Heaven and has appeared in many other movies throughout her career. Biel decided to join the climb, because she wanted a mental and physical challenge. She’s passionate about the cause and stated, “This is a basic human necessity that needs to be addressed now”.

Emile Hirsch also took on the challenge of the climb, most notably the star of Sean Penn’s movie Into the Wild (2007). He also starred in the Wachowski brothers’ (directors of The Matrix Trilogy) film Speed Racer. Hirsch is not only an actor, but an altruist as well. He is an Oxfam ambassador. In 2008, he travelled with the organization to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is a country stricken with intense violence and deadly conflict. Unfortunately this has been the case since World War II. In 2009, he travelled again with Oxfam to Zimbabwe, when they sought to address the cholera crisis in the country.

The leader of the group of climbers, Kenna, a Grammy nominated musician came up with the idea for Summit on the Summit when talking with his father. His father was originally from Ethiopia before moving to the states. He could see the pain in his father’s eyes when he talked about the water crisis in his homeland, Ethiopia and decided to do something about it. To watch the gripping account of the group’s climb to the summit, go here.

The Summit on the Summit is one of what Kenna hopes to be many projects that will raise awareness about the clean water act. Children in other countries deserve clean water as much as our own. The issue of clean water isn’t due to lack of supply, but rather lack of access. To donate, go here.