Man Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to Help Blind

Brad Hart says he is dreaming of the inspirational moment he will see the sunset from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

This is no idle fantasy. The school principal from Berks County, Pennsylvania has set off on an eight-day journey to ascend the mountain in order to raise money to help save children's sight.

There is a good chance Hart knows how those children feel. He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and has been slowly losing his vision since he was a teenager, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer he will likely be blind within five years.

"If I can correct the vision of someone else so they don't go through what I've had to go through in life then that gives me the driving passion to do it," Hart told WFMZ-TV News.

The trek is part of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity of Pennsylvania's annual Climb for Sight, which raises money for Guatemalan kids with avoidable blindness to have eye surgery.

Accompanying Brad Hart on the trek is his brother, Brian Hart, who will help navigate the path to the 19,340-foot summit. The pair, who have raised $30,000, will post updates from the climb on their blog.