Miracle on the Hudson Survivor Reflects on Impact with Release of Sully

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Few people get the chance to relive a life-changing moment like Barry Leonard and other passengers from USAirways Flight 1549 – the Miracle on the Hudson flight on which the movie Sully was based. 

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Leonard, along with a number of other passengers participated in the movie's filming when the production filmed some scenes in Charlotte at the Carolinas Aviation Museum where the plane resides.  Leonard was traveling in India, but came back to his hometown when he was given the opportunity.

"Seeing the plane is always emotional to me," he said. "It was especially so during the filming." 

This week, Leonard will attend two separate showings, when he watches the film for the first time with his wife and other passengers in Charlotte and then a second time with his children, other passengers and first responders in New York City.

"I will be sitting with Dr. Hilda Roque, who treated me in the triage area and rushed me to the hospital to help save my life. She is my angel," he said.

After his recovery, Leonard embarked on his own personal bucket list, with one of the first items climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and raising funds for the Kilimanjaro Education Foundation, a nonprofit volunteer organization with a mission to provide African children the same educational opportunities as children in developed countries. Leonard's climb helped to raise funds for a school library and to help officially "open" the library for the Tanzanian elementary school, which was built with funds raised by a Pittsburgh area elementary school, Franklin Elementary, in the North Allegheny School District.

"Summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro with my son was so special to me," he said. "But the other part was helping to dedicate a library to the Masai Tribe.  Going on the cow and goat trails to get to the school and spending the day with the students and their families was a high point of my life.  I thank the Kilimanjaro Education Foundation for helping me realize one of my dreams and bucket list items." 

Leonard has continued work on his bucket list.  He walked part of the Camino de Santiago with his daughter, where he "could feel the spirits as we walked alone on most of the hike." Last year, Leonard went up in a 1931 biplane with canvas wings over the shore and out into the Atlantic Ocean, and earlier this year, he and his wife visited Bali for a four-day Indian wedding, continuing on to Phuket, Chiang Rai (Thailand), Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

"The high point was walking, feeding, riding, bathing and living with the elephants on an elephant sanctuary as elephants have always been my favorite animal," he said.  "I became a certified mahout, which means I know how to do all of the above and how to ride them through touch and words."

Today, the Kilimanjaro Education Foundation is preparing to celebrate its 10^th anniversary and is working to fund two new projects: the first is to provide toilets to two schools that currently have no working facilities and the second is to provide water, desks, classroom repairs and kitchen facilities for a third school in Tanzania. Donations are being accepted via www.kef4kids.org.   

"So much has happened since that fateful day," added Leonard. "But the experience helped me clarify my relationship with myself first and then with others. Just realizing how short life is made me look at everyday as a blessing and to try to create an everlasting memory. I also say 'I love you' to my family and friends today. I try to never wait until tomorrow and try to live like I am dying. I live and love everyday to my fullest."

About KEF

Kilimanjaro Education Foundation (KEF), (www.kef4kids.org) founded in 2006, is incorporated in New York State and organized as a 501(c)(3). KEF strives to improve education and to build school facilities for underprivileged children in Tanzania and other countries bordering Kilimanjaro. KEF's volunteers and directors share in and impart not only the Foundation's passion for children and education, but also in KEF's core values of honesty, integrity, creativity and imagination.

Media Contact: Jeffrey Durosko, Jeff Durosko Communications, 4126357229, jeff@duroskopr.com

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SOURCE Kilimanjaro Education Foundation