Franklin Lakes Woman Joining Climbers on Prosthetics in Mount Kilimanjaro Hike

A 21-year-old Franklin Lakes woman is set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with two young men on prosthesis, in an effort to bring attention to the 'I Want to Walk' Movement.

According to a release from the movement, Katerina Pokrovsky, a Russian orphan who was adopted by a Franklin Lakes family, learned about 'I Want to Walk' at a recent fundraiser when she met Sasha D'Jamoos.

D'Jamoos was a Russian orphan with severe disabilities, who said he had no hope of walking before he connected with the “I Want to Walk” Program of the Happy Families international Center. With funds from donors, he was brought to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, where he was provided surgical, prosthetic and rehabilitative care, the release said. He is now a college student in Texas.

“It’s not just that they helped me walk on two feet. They helped me walk out of the orphanage and start a real life," he said in the release. In an effort to give back, D'Jamoos got involved with the program's Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, climb, and told Pokrovsky about it.

“It didn’t take long to decide I wanted to go – to help, to support, to cheer, to help in any way I can. I’m among the people lucky enough to leave the orphanage, and this is my chance to give back and help someone else have a better life,” she said in the release.

D'Jamoos and another former orphan on prosthesis are leading a group of climbers on the 9,341-foot climb.

The climb is organized by the “I Want to Walk” Program of the Happy Families International Center, but is supported by and on behalf of a united group of Russian and American charitable efforts, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and several Russian charitable efforts. 

The “I Want to Walk” Program of the Happy Families international Center is a US-based nonprofit dedicated to providing medical and rehabilitative care to abandoned Russian children with several disabilities. To find out more about Happy Families, please click the following link: http://www.happyfamilies.org/. The progress of the hike can also be tracked at that link.