The birth of genius is the moment that a person discovers his talents regardless of his age

Al Razi

We can always achieve our dreams, as long as we keep believing we can

From the Middle East To Mount Everest

Mostafa Salameh is one of only 20 people to ever climb the Seven Summits and conquer the South Pole and the North Pole - known as the ‘Explorers Grand Slam.’ Born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugee parents, it was never Mostafa’s intention to become a climber. His mountaineering journey began in 2004 following a vivid dream with spiritual intervention. After dreaming that he was reciting the call to prayer from the world’s highest peak, a persistent Mostafa followed his calling and became the first Palestinian-Jordanian to climb Mount Everest in 2008. That was also the year King Abdullah II of Jordan Knighted Mostafa.

Today, he is an Explorer, Inspirational Speaker, Fundraiser and Author. In March 2016, Mostafa published his first book titled ‘Dreams of a Refugee’ with Bloomsbury Publishing. In 2018, it was translated into Arabic. In 2019, Mostafa published “Everest” in Arabic and English, the first of a series of seven children's books about his adventures. In 2021, Mostafa published “Journey of Ascension and Rising" a book in Arabic about the spiritual journey of the mountain. Today Mostafa combines his sporting career with speaking roles. A large part of his time is passionately invested in inspiring and motivating children, youths and adults into realizing their own dreams.

TED TALK

They say that life is like climbing a mountain. People dream about the view from the summit, but sometimes they just look up and come to the conclusion that it simply can't be done. But goals aren't meant to be easy, are they? The secret is to never give up. Because you can achieve everything you can imagine.

Everyone has an Everest in his life.

“For me Everest was the calling to pray on the top of the world”

Mostafa Salameh - Everest Summit 8848 meters, 25th May 2008.

Listen very closely.

I would rather die than be told that there’s no new goal or dream to achieve. Because nothing else makes sense to me. We all have an inner voice that we work hard to quiet down because it doesn’t make sense to the world. I’m here to say that when we allow ourselves to listen to our inner voice, our inner spirit, our truth, great things happen.

MORE THAN 5 MILLION RAISED FOR CHARITY.

Four years into his sporting career, Mostafa made a conscious decision to climb for a purpose. In the spirit of helping those in need, he launched three successful initiatives (the first in 2012) that raised millions for charity.

ENQUIRE FOR CHARITY

CLIMB FOR KARAM

Karam Foundation, a nonprofit based in Chicago dedicated to building a better future for Syria, teamed up with expert mountaineer, Mostafa Salameh, to organize the first ever “Climb4Karam” expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Nine people, all dedicated to Karam’s mission, spent 10 days in January, 2017 on the climb, overcoming physical struggles in pursuit of making it to the top of Africa’s highest mountain. Over the course of several months of preparation for their journey, the team raised over $140,000 through online campaigns. The donations were distributed to various Karam Foundation programs, including Emergency aid, which helped the displaced people of Aleppo resettle, the Sponsor Syrian Refugee Family program that focuses on sending Syrian youth back to school, and the Karam House, an innovation community center based in Reyhanli, Turkey.

EYE CAN SEE

Eye Can See, a nonprofit initiative based in Jordan dedicated to elevating the life of low vision and blind children, teamed up with Mostafa Salameh to organize the first “Eye Can See” expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Twelve people from eight countries who all believed in the initiative, spent 10 days in February, 2017 and made it to the top of Uhuru Peak using their mental and physical strength. The team raised over $140,000 through personal efforts and online campaigns.

CLIMB FOR CHILDREN OF GAZA (C4CG)

From 25 June - 9 July, 2015, Mostafa and 15 Jordanian climbers made it to the top of Mount Huayna Potosí in Bolivia and Machu Picchu in Peru. The initiative was Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein, and in cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The team’s extraordinary efforts raised over $150,000, which were used to rebuild schools destroyed by the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, as well as building a climbing wall for the city’s children.

SEE NO LIMITS

In February 2015, Suhail Nashash, a Jordanian with a visual impairment, and Jarrah Hawamdeh, a Jordanian amputee, successfully climbed the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with Mostafa in the lead. The initiative was launched to change people’s perceptions of those with disabilities and prove that, they too, can “climb their own Everest.” See No Limits’ second objective was to promote a positive image of Islam, and to show the world that it is a peaceful, moderate religion that encourages achievements and the appreciation of one’s life.

LOWEST TO HIGHEST FOR CANCER (LH4C)

This was Mostafa’s first charitable initiative, launched in 2012 to honor cancer survivors and raise funds for the King Hussein Cancer Centre in Amman, Jordan after being inspired by one of its child cancer patients. Mostafa led two groups of prominent Jordanian volunteers from the Dead Sea to the Everest Camp Base in 2013 and the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2014, raising $2 million in return. Money raised from this initiative helped build two new state-of-the-art buildings that have increased the KHCC’s capacity from 3,500 to over 7,000 inpatients per year, and from 100,000 to more than 150,000 outpatient visits per year. The first expedition’s team members faced physical and psychological challenges in the 18 grueling days (10 hours of trekking per day) it took them to climb Mount Everest. Climbing the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro took place in February, 2014. Its team of 22 members included HH Prince Mired, Princess Dina and two photographers.

THE BADWA CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Badwa Center is a non-profit Jordanian organization, that is dedicated to educating and providing vocational training for disadvantaged children with physical and mental challenges. Mosatafa Salameh along with a group of 14 volunteers, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in January, 2018 and were able to raise $100,000 for the center, and to shed light on the importance of educating children with disabilities and giving them hope for the future.

SEVEN MOUNTAINS FOR KING HUSSEIN CANCER CENTER

The Seven Mountains Initiative was founded with a vision of supporting those who climb their own mountains each and every day to survive their illness, disability and other life challenges. A team of students from Chouifat school raised an astounding $180,000, which will go to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) and Center (KHCC), and 30% to Al Hussein Society for Social Care. And now they are ready to climb the highest summit in the Arab World: Mount Toubkal in Morocco, which towers over Marrakech at a height of 4167 meters. The team will carry the hopes of all the patients supported by the campaign, along with the Jordanian Flag, and take them to the summit.

Books

After seven remarkable climbs, hundreds of inspirational speeches, and millions raised through charitable initiatives, Mostafa told his story in writing. His book, Dreams of a Refugee, takes an emotional and close-to-the-heart approach in telling Mostafa’s story from zero-to-hero. While Mostafa inspires refugees to pursue their dreams, he invites hosting countries to be more human when dealing with refugees administrative issues such as residence permits or college enrollment. A refugee is a victim and it seems as if Mostafa is calling upon all parties to adopt responsible attitudes.