A 7-year old boy announced his plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, after watching a news feature of a man who attempted to do the same, but failed. With his gear gathered, he is setting to scale the mountain for approximately five months, with the help of his father.

Keats Boyd insisted on his aim, wanting to be "the youngest climber to ever reach the summit."

His father, Bryan Boyd, 44, recalled how Keats saw the PBS news special of a man with polio trying to reach the summit, but failed to do so. After watching the special, entitled "Volcano Above the Clouds", Boyd said that his son suddenly blurted out, "I can, too, do that...I want to do that!"

After shrugging off his son's claims, Boyd then suddenly noticed the persistence of the 7-year old.

"He was tenacious. He kept bringing it up and bringing it up. And he kept saying 'I can do it,'" the Press Telegram quoted Boyd. He has already taken five months off from work, to help his son climb to the top of the 19,340-foot volcano in the wilds of Tanzania.

The UPI reported that in attempting to reach his goal, Keats plans to raise funds for the charities Kids of Kilimanjaro, and the Jane Goodall Institute.

He had already sat down with Goodall, the renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace. On a book Keats asked her to autograph, Goodall wrote, "Together we can change the world."

The Boyds are scheduled to leave for Africa on January 7, and are expected to reach the summit by the 22nd of the month. They will be returning on February 4, and for the entire trip will be followed by guides and porters.

The family has also already paid for a TV producer and two cameramen to document the climb.