Dubai entrepreneurs Ania Stal and Tina Søgaard-Pedersen are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in July and donating the money they raise to the Dubai Autism Center.

Stal, 37, and Søgaard-Pedersen, 32, are hoping to raise a minimum of Dh60,000 by July 15, when they return from their climb.

The trek will last a week, starting on July 5 and ending on July 12.

Stal is hoping their efforts bring more awareness of autism, while Søgaard-Pedersen is climbing for her late friend Ruairi Flanagan, who dedicated his life to helping autistic children.

“Everywhere, I think in the whole world, there’s a lack of awareness of autism,” said Stal. “People who don’t have a direct connection to children with autism, they don’t really know how to behave towards such a personality. So raising awareness of autism in Dubai and all over the world is very important.”

Stal wanted to undertake a unique challenge to test herself physically and mentally as a way to give back to the community.

“I decided to do something to take myself out of my comfort zone and challenge myself,” she said. “Climbing Kilimanjaro is not so much technically challenging as it’s challenging emotionally and mentally. So that’s what I wanted to do and Kilimanjaro came across my mind and my friend Tina heard of my idea and she decided to join me.”

Stal and Søgaard-Pedersen will also shoot a small film before and during their climb which they will upload to social media websites in the hope that it will get others to take action.

For more information or to donate visit www.kiliclimbdubai.com.