Shawn Carter, a West Chester veteran, is planning to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro on February 18, 2022, as part of the Chris Long Foundation’s Waterboy Project. Fran Maye covered his altruistic adventure for the Daily Local News.

Carter was wounded twice while serving in Iraq and received two Purple Hearts. The U.S. Army also gave him a formal retirement earlier this year. Last week, he was awarded $2,500 by David’s Drive 831 — a Coatesville outreach to former members of the military — to help him with his climbing goal.

Carter currently serves as a correctional officer at Chester County Prison.

His goal with the clean-water advocacy group Conquering Kili is to raise funds for building sustainable water wells. He hopes to gather $7,500 for constructing wells in Tanzania, a project that will aid more than 10,000 people.

“Having served in the Army for 22 years, I have seen firsthand what it means to have safe drinking water,” said Carter.  “In Iraq, I watched young children gather water from polluted and unsafe sources to consume, risking both their health and safety.”

Read more about Shawn Carter in the Daily Local News.