MIAMI (CBS4) – A group of South Florida women reached new heights to raise awareness of human trafficking.

The group of seven women recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa for “Operation Mobilization” not just to reach a new peak, but to reach out to supporters of the cause.

“Thinking about why we were climbing gave me the desire to keep going, to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” said Danielle Petrozelli.

Also keeping them moving, the 27 million women and children who are victim to human trafficking.

“Experiencing that taste of suffering, I can no long be complacent to the suffering of others,” said Petrozelli to CBS4’s Jorge Estevez. “Reaching the top was symbolic to slaves reaching their point of freedom.

And the most symbolic leg of the journey came at night on the 6th day.

“The nights are hardest for the girls involved in sexual slavery. So for us to be able to understand a little bit what that was like and just waiting for the sun to go up,” said Lori Degler who works for “Operation Mobilization”.

The women raised $200,000 dollars and are already talking about next year’s trip.