She will leave for a study abroad trip to South Africa on May 9. Larson’s trip will include a nearly three-month safari, tour and humanitarian effort through Africa that includes a two or three-day tour of Gonja and a seven-day climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Her climb is set to begin in June.

For about the past six months, Larson has been collecting money from family members, friends and local businesses to send a $14,000 container of medical supplies to support Gonja Hospital, an underfinanced and understaffed medical center in the mountainous region of Tanzania.

“I have a problem going to a place like Africa that has people living in poverty and just be an American tourist and return to my safe American bubble,” Larson said.

Larson formulated the idea for the trip last fall and first contacted Gonja Hospital in October after reading about it online.

“I looked at the Web site of its parent organization and Gonja was the most in need,” she said. “The money will be used for surgical supplies, operating tables, X-ray supplies and general supplies — things we take for granted in the U.S.”

Biology junior Steph Dawes, who met Larson through horseback riding in high school, climbed Kilimanjaro in 2006 following a study abroad trip to Kenya. She said because the mountain doesn’t require use of ropes and rock climbing, it is a hard hike.

“It was the most rewarding and most difficult experience of my whole life,” Dawes said. “I got to where I was past the point of physical exhaustion — it was all mental.”

Larson said she’s been exercising at the gym frequently to prepare for the hike but hasn’t done much climbing due to the area’s lack of hills and mountains.

“In the gym I’m doing the treadmill, stair climbers and weight training,” Larson said. “The hardest item will be clothing. There’s tropical conditions at the bottom of the mountain and snow at the top.”

Dawes said reaching the summit made her climbing struggles worthwhile, while the overall experience changed her.

“What really hit home with me was the gap between those that are rich and those that are poor. There’s no middle ground,” Dawes said.

Deb Rufner, Larson’s mother, is traveling to Tanzania in early June to meet Larson and will volunteer as a doctor’s assistant. She will administer medical care to the citizens living nearby Kilimanjaro while Larson climbs the mountain.

“I’m a pediatrician and I love to travel, so I think it’s a pretty rewarding thing to do,” Rufner said.

After leaving Tanzania, Larson will go on an overland tour to Victoria Falls, Botswana, Namibia and Cape Town, South Africa.

Global Health Ministries, a nonprofit aid organization, will be receiving Larson’s donation and sending the 40-foot container of supplies to Gonja Hospital, although the arrival date is still to be determined.

Larson said she’s received more than $4,000, including close to $400 at a 5K fundraiser run held last weekend, but is still in need of support in order to reach the $14,000 goal.

“This event is simple and it makes sense,” said jazz studies sophomore David McWilliams, who participated in the race, which cost $20 to register. “Sometimes you’re afraid you’re giving money to a cause that you’re not sure about, but she’s actually going there herself.”