The Highest Purpose: Johnson & Johnson’s Trek for Smiles Team Climbs Mount Kilimanjaro for Operation Smile

For many outdoor enthusiasts, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is a lifelong dream. A large dormant volcano in Tanzania, it receives approximately 40,000 visitors each year, trying to make the five-to-nine-day trek to its summit. 

This September, 20 Johnson & Johnson employees and friends from the United States, Canada and Switzerland made the journey up the peak’s 19,341 feet of elevation. They did this not just for a physical and mental challenge, but for a very worthwhile cause: to raise funds and awareness for Operation Smile, specifically to support its newly expanded care center in Tanzania.  

The Trek for Smiles hikers spent over a year preparing for the strenuous journey, which includes sleeping in tents, adjusting to the high altitude and walking for miles each day. But an even bigger accomplishment was besting their initial fundraising goal of $50,000. In fact, they doubled it, generating $100,000 in donations that will go directly to newly opened Operation Smile Tanzania. 

“I am doing this for two reasons: one to challenge myself to see what I am made of,” said Byron Gilchrist, Johnson & Johnson’s senior finance manager of Vision Canada, on his motivation for participating.  “And two, to bring awareness to Operation Smile and to raise funds to make children’s lives much better than they are today.”  

Johnson & Johnson has a long history of partnering with Operation Smile. For over 35 years, the global health care and medical technology company has been working with the nonprofit to help transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and young people with cleft conditions. 

After completing their climb, the Trek for Smiles team had the opportunity to meet with patients and community health workers to learn firsthand about the barriers to accessing care and the challenges of traveling long distances for treatment. Despite these challenges, the community continues to show resilience and hope. 

“I’ve been involved with Operation Smile for over 10 years now,” says Darcy Huda, Johnson & Johnson’s senior manager for commercial excellence of Vision Care Canada. “I just love how they are helping to strengthen health care systems around the world together.”  

The funds raised during this program will help bring new smiles to more than 460 children and support Operation Smile’s work to train nurses, provide essential tools and expand access to life changing care in Tanzania and around the world.