Rising above the icy Mountains in Russia (5,642 meters) is Europe’s highest peak. The next plan is to conquer the highest peak in Europe “Mount Elbrus” to raise awareness and deliver a message of hope and encouragement to children with cancer undergoing difficult treatment, to Hang On, Push Forward, and Never Give Up. This July 2017, the Survival Team at the Lebanese American University will make the trek to the top of Mount Elbrus.
In collaboration with the LAU Medical Center and Rizk and the Chance (Children Against Cancer Association).
The struggle to fight this illness is a long and tedious journey. But the more they push forward the higher they climb, and the better the chances they have to reach their goal.
This journey is mainly about building these children spirits and encouraging the youth generation to take initiatives and make a change for the better.
Prior to the Expedition, the team will be spending some quality time with these children undergoing treatment for cancer. Group pictures will be taken with them and the team together. Each team member will also be responsible to carry the pictures of a number of these children with them to the top of Europe. As a symbol that we struggled together and made it together.
Short videos to these children by name will also be made by each team member during the journey to the top. Depending on connection, these messages will be sent via WhatsApp to the guardian of these children regularly, and will be posted on this website. The message will be about the struggles each member is going through each day, and how they are fighting to overcome the day by day battles. The focus will be to continuously send videos to these children to inspire and motivate them. By doing so, we would also be inspiring and motivating the team members and creating an inspiring atmosphere at LAU, as these videos are placed on the LAU Never Give Up site.
Upon returning, the team will visit these children once again at the hospital to check on them and further encourage them to Never Give Up.
By supporting this cause, you will not only be encouraging good deeds and compassion, but help motivate these children to stay strong. Furthermore, you will also help expand overall experiences, awaken empathy, urge team building and bonding, build self-confidence, personality and skills, and spice up the university’s atmosphere.
This expedition is receiving the support of a conglomerate of LAU students coming from different backgrounds and majors:
• The Nutrition Club is providing the climbers with meal plans.
• The Medical School Students are taking care of doing necessary medical
tests for the hikers.
• The Communication Arts students are filming the training sessions and
preparing all marketing material.
• The Architecture and Design students have taken care of all graphics
and visuals for the website and campaign
• The Computer Science students have put together the website
• The Engineering students have focused their work on researching and
building the Exoskeleton
Through team work, strong will, strong leadership qualities, and determination, the Lebanese American University students and staff have joined forces to reach out to those in need and to send a message to every individual not to give up.
The LAU Survival Team was initiated in 2011 and it is composed of a group of committed and highly motivated staff and students from LAU. Every year, the team undergo intense training programs that encompass but is not limited to the following:
Members’ trainings include:
• Endurance and strong will
• First Aid (CPR, Trauma, burn, shock, etc…)
• Knots: (Main essential knots anyone can learn and everyone should
know)
• Fire making (using friction method, as well as chemical, electrical and
solar methods)
• Traps (different types of traps for small and large games)
• Study of identifying Edible / non edible plants
• Navigation (using stars, moon, sun, geographical location, plants)
• Shelter building (using simple things you find around and improvise)
• Clothing (types of clothing to wear and not to wear depending on the
weather and activity)
• Finding & storing food/water
• Water purification method
• Rock climbing
• Snow Caving
Despite their differences in opinions and their backgrounds, the participants learn to:
• Work as a team.
• Have trust in themselves and in one another.
• Listen, consider and respect one another’s opinion.
• Face fears together and calmly.
• Control anger by converting emotional intense situations into
productive outcomes.
• Further develop their will power and discover their new limits
• Think creatively.
• Value and appreciate what they have and understand the feeling of
those that don’t have much
• Build self confidence in themselves and in their team mates
• Improvise and make good use of items around.
• Respect nature and its surrounding.