I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro several times since 2008. In this blog I share my experience of climbing the world's highest free standing mountain, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I also share stories of people I have met during my climbs.
After donating Shs.100,000/- to the Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Seconday School, Notburga Maskini has donated another Shs.100,000/- to Bukoba Disabled Assistance Project (Budap).
She is the first donor to donate to Budap, and the first to donate to both beneficiaries of this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
Notburga Maskini
Current donors to Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School (CEWGSS):
1. Tanzania Gatsby Trust - Shs.500,000/-
2. Dina Mrango - Shs.100,000/-
3. Notburga Maskini - Shs.100,000/-
Current donors to Budap:
1. Notburga Maskini - Shs.100,000/-
Total donations to CEWGSS: Shs.700,000/- Total donations to Budap: Shs.100,000/-
Tuesday 30 November 2010As soon I boarded a Nairobi-bound bus at Makutano on my way to Moshi, I was caught in a draft from the open bus windows and as I put on a jacket I realized I forgot to pack a heavy coat that is suitable for wearing at lower altitudes during the Kilimanjaro climb. I had a whole year to plan this year’s climb, and I forgot crucial wear! I sent a text message home asking someone to find a way to send the raincoat and another jacket I left behind, and I settled into my seat for a comfortable ride to Nairobi and to Moshi. I wished.
It wasn't comfortable.
After I sent the initial message I realized I also forgot a raincoat that is indispensable for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with the rainy season just about to start. I sent a second text message.
The Nairobi route to Arusha is uneventful, but lengthy. I would like those who object to a better road through the Serengeti as a comfortable alternative and shorter route for residents of Tanzania’s Mara region to try the Nairobi option once in a while and reflect on why Mara residents prefer a better road through the Serengeti.
The route and the outcome: Makutano – Nairobi: approximately 6 hours; transit time at Nairobi: 7 hours; Nairobi – Moshi (9 hours, if the bus does not break down.) Unfortunately, the bus did break down, twice. On reaching the Arusha terminal, there was a delay of more than an hour while the bus underwent some repairs of a burst hydraulic pipe.
We resumed the trip towards Moshi and half an hour before reaching Moshi, the bus broke down again and I reflected on the company’s motto: Connecting East Africa. Not today, I thought. Not today.
The first breakdown at Arusha.
I got off the bus and hopped onto an Arusha – Moshi commuter bus and reached Moshi and checked into a modest clean hotel on the first floor of the building that has a rental shop for mountain climbing gear.
Notburga Maskini, a member of the Kilimanjaro Club, who was on last year's charity climb, has donated Sh.100,000/- to the Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School, one of the beneficiaries of this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
Notburga Maskini
Current donors to Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School (CEWGSS):
1. Tanzania Gatsby Trust - Shs.500,000/-
2. Dina Mrango - Shs.100,000/-
3. Notburga Maskini - Shs.100,000/-
The Kilimanjaro Club lists people I know who have scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, including those who join me every year on the annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb and those who join me for my non-charity climbs.
Notburga Maskini and Gerald Hando climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro last year and should have been inducted into the 'Kilimanjaro Club' last year.
They joined the climb in October 2009.
Notburga Maskini, right, during last year's climb. In the middle, Gerald Hando of Clouds FM, and behind Gerald, the author of this post.
The updated Kilimanjaro club list is:
No.
Name
Nationality
Age
Reached*
Summit
Date
1.
Madaraka Nyerere
Tanzanian
48
Uhuru Peak
24th August 2008
2.
Le Huyhn
Vietnamese
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
25th August 2008
3.
Markus Geiger
Swiss
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
2009
4.
Gerald Hando
Tanzanian
Unknown
Uhuru Peak
6 October 2009
5.
Notburga Maskini
Tanzanian
49
Stella Point
6 October 2009
*A
climber is awarded a certificate for reaching one of three elevations: Uhuru
Peak (5,895 AMSL), Stella Point (5,745 AMSL), or Gillman's Point (5,685 AMSL).
Monday 29 November 2010 Before last year’s climb, I discovered Mwanza’s second-hand goods market at Lango Moja offers a good selection of hiking boots. The boots I bought last year only barely survived the rigors of last year’s climb. This year I had to choose my boots wisely. I believe I did, after I bought a pair of thinly insulated boots called Red Wings. They proved tough, resilient, and ready to take on Kilimanjaro next year.
On my way back from Mwanza, I received a call from Jaffar Amin saying he had been involved in a car accident in Uganda in which his driver had died and he was seriously injured. Over a series of telephone conversation he told me he was being transferred to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for further treatment. I was scheduled to climb Kilimanjaro with Jaffar and the news of the accident was unfortunate as I was looking forward to his participation in the charity fund raising drive.
In a subsequent phone call, he asked me to send him some money to help with his treatment, and the alarm bells went off. Jaffar had not told me he was in Uganda. The next day I eventually summoned the will to call a number on which I had previously communicated with him. The real Jaffar answered the phone; he was fine, had not been involved in any accident, and was eagerly looking forward to joining me at Moshi for the 3rd annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
The fake Jaffar kept calling, asking me to find a way to transfer the money he had requested. I played on, saying I had asked a friend in Nairobi to deliver the money to him while I attempted to involve police authorities to lay a trap and nab him. He provided a ward number of the hospital, but when I told him my friend was on his way to the hospital with the money, the impostor changed his mind and suggested the money should be sent by Western Union to Entebbe.
After I decided I had wasted enough time I sent him the following text message:
“I give you credit for being a crook who takes precautions. I know you are not Jaffar, and I have only played along because I wanted to nab you, which I could have done if I had more time to waste. I suggest you immediately stop using the number you have because I have friends in both Uganda and Kenya who will surely catch up with you and your continued use of that number will make their work much easier.”
An hour later he sent me the following text message:
“Kindly employ me then.”
Very funny, I thought. I was not only dealing with a conman, but also an aspiring comedian.
I have received and deposited to the Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School Fundraising account another donation for this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
Dina Mrango
Dina Mrango of Toronto, Canada, has donated Shs.100,000/- to the school, one of the beneficiaries of this year's charity climb.
Current donors to Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School (CEWGSS):
1. Tanzania Gatbsy Trust - Shs.500,000/-
2. Dina Mrango - Shs.100,000/-
I have just received news of the first donation of Shs.500,000/- (Five hundred thousand) received for Chief Edward Girls' Secondary School under this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb from Tanzania Gatsby Trust.
I thank Tanzania Gatsby Trust (TGT) and especially TGT's Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Olive Luena, for this important donation.
Please keep those donations flowing to one or both of this year's beneficiaries:
Name of Account:
Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls’ Secondary School Fundraising
I made a mistake in the account number of BUDAP that I provided in earlier posts on this blog, one of the beneficiary's of the just concluded Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
I reach the top of Kilimanjaro for the third time.
An indispensable factor that helps climbers reach the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest free standing mountain, are the mountain guides.
Mountain guide Solomon (left) and his counterpart, Ludovick (right) are dwarfed by Jaffar Amin (centre) moments before reaching Mt. Kilimanjaro's summit at 5,896m above sea level. In the background, the Southern Icefield.
Yesterday morning, through the guidance of Solomon (on the left of the photo) and Ludovick (on the right), I and Jaffar Amin reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.
Having seen a preview of this photograph Solomon commented, "This guy is huge. Look at us. We look like chicks!" [the fowl version].
Jaffar Amin arrived in Moshi this afternoon to take part in the annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb which begins on 7 December.
I, on the right, pose with Jaffar on the left at Moshi moments after his arrival in Moshi. Mt. Kilimanjaro is seen in the background.
The climb aims to raise charitable donations from members of the public, including you, for two beneficiaries. They include the Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School whose bank particulars are:
Name of Account:
Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls’ Secondary School Fundraising
Bank:
National Bank of Commerce, Musoma Branch
Account Number:
030201191529
The school still needs funds to complete various projects including a library, and recreational grounds.
The second beneficiary is Bukoba Disabled Assistance Project (BUDAP), a Bukoba-based NGO established in 2005 to empower the disabled through training and employment. Details of BUDAP’s activities can be obtained here:
In a press release I released a few days ago, I announced that this year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb will take place from 23 to 30 November. I have to postpone the climb yet again for two reasons: first, lack of timely sponsor support, and, second, my guest climber, Jaffar Amin, has caught influenza.
The climb dates will now be from 7 to 14 December, 2010.
Climbing Kilimanjaro involves considerable cost and sponsor support is crucial. I have received limited support and had to postpone the commencement dates to allow receipt of some funding from a sponsor on November 25. I communicated the information to Jaffar proposing postponement and he informed me he had contracted influenza. Influenza is one item that is not recommended for all those who climb Kilimanjaro. I would have had to postpone the climb until he is fully recovered.
The beneficiaries for this year's climb do not and will not suffer from influenza. Please donate. Some information on them is provided below:
The objective this year is to raise charitable donations from you for one of two (or both) beneficiaries. The first is the Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls’ Secondary School, which was also the beneficiary of the first climb in 2008 when more than $US20,000 was raised. Details of the 2008 climb can be found here:
The school still needs funds to complete various projects including a library, and recreational grounds. I am appealing to you to donate directly to the school’s account whose details are:
Name of Account:
Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls’ Secondary School Fundraising
Bank:
National Bank of Commerce, Musoma Branch
Account Number:
030201191529
The second beneficiary is Bukoba Disabled Assistance Project (BUDAP), a Bukoba-based NGO established in 2005 to empower the disabled through training and employment. Details of BUDAP’s activities can be obtained here:
Notburga Maskini has been elected the only candidate from Kilimanjaro Region, representing workers organizations under Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), under the special seats reserved for women members of parliament. The regional conference of CCM's women's wing, Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanzania (UWT) elected her on 28th July by 443 of the 467 votes cast.
The number of special seat parliamentarians for each political party is determined by the total votes that each party wins in the general elections.
She is still in the running for the Rombo constituency seat that is currently held by incumbent Basil Mramba. If she wins the constituency nomination she will give up her special seat nomination.
Notburga is a member of the Kilimanjaro Club, whose members have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro either with me or whose ascent has been communicated to me.
After climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with me in 2008, my friend Le continued with his travels. He sent me the following photos and text from a visit to South America.
...It was the times of the Chamaj Pacha, the times of flood and darkness. Evil spirits roamed the lands and there seemed no end to the suffering of the world.
Then... Lo! From an island in the middle of crystal lake arose the God Viracocha! Standing on a rock, he commanded the Sun and the Moon to rise, the two primordial energies for all life forces. He then created the first human beings, Mallku Kapac and Mama Ocllo and commanded them to go out and populate the world...
Photo: Totora reed boat, a feature of Lake Titicaca
Thus they were sent in search of a place for the children of the Sun. The Andean ancestors have since migrated to other places via subterranean canals and settled in rivers, mountains, turning them into sacred centers. In the end, the spirits of the dead will return to their origin at the lake... so goes the Andean mythology.
The rock where the God Viracocha stood is known as 'Titi Khar'ka', meaning 'Rock of the Puma' in the Aymara language as it is in the shape of a Puma, a saced animal representing the world of man in Andean cosmology. Lake Titicaca owns its name from the rock and, naturally, the island where the Sun has risen is called Isla del Sol.
Photo: Le soaks in the sun on a sacrificial relic from the past
Today, Lake Titicaca is often described as the highest navigable lake in the world. It is certainly one of the largest splash of sapphire water body, a gem in the middle of the arid altiplano region. With lots of imagination, visitors to the Isla del Sol can admire the Titi Khar'ka rock, edged with the face of the God Virachocha as well as the shape of the Puma. Numerous pre-Inca and Inca ruins dot the islands on the lake where in ancient times sacrificial ceremonies were supposedly performed.
Not all sites are easily visible. A vast temple structure completely submerged under the lake just north of Isla del Sol was discovered in August 2000. We can only know more about this fantastic Bolivian Atlantis in the near future. No wonder Lake Titicaca is a contender for the new seven natural wonders of the World!
I believe we reached agreement during the 2008 Kilimanjaro climb that if I gain enough experience with mountaineering, we will one day launch an assault on Mt. Everest, at least up to Mount Everest's Base Camp.
This year, as for the past two years, I continue with my efforts to raise funds for charity through climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and the world's tallest free-standing mountain.
Images from the 2008 and 2009 climbs:
At the summit; you cannot stand higher on the African continent
A partial view of Furtwangler Glacier, seen from Crater Camp
Boulders along the route to Barranco Camp
Mawenzi, Kilimanjaro's other peak, bears itself during last year's descent
Unique vegetation on Mt. Kilimanjaro
Kibo, just before sunset
Following the considerable publicity received during last year's climb I expect a larger number of climbers to join me this year. Because it is an election year, I will avoid scheduling the 8-day climb during the official election campaign period which runs from August to October. I therefore expect the climb to take place during the first week of November.
Some of the people who intend to climb Kilimanjaro with me this year to raise funds for charity (or just for the adventure) include:
Amrani Batenga, former Chairperson of Mwanza region's branch of Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), also a Mwanza-based businessman
Cutlatt Mazengo, who works at the National Insurance Corporation
Fred "Fredwaa" Fidelis, the radio presenter at Radio Free Africa in Mwanza
Gerald Hando, the radio presenter at Clouds FM who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with me last year and is Fredwaa's cousin
Imruh Bakari, a lecturer in Media, Film and Communication at King Alfred's College, Winchester, England
Jaffar Amin, the son of Idi Amin who visited me at Butiama in 2008 and was to join me last year, but could not
Khoti Kamanga, my lookalike and Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Dar es Salaam
Makongoro, my brother and the ruling party's Chairperson for Mara Region, who has climbed Kilimanjaro in the past as part of his cadet training at the Monduli Military Academy
Matare, my cousin and businessman, who was to join me last year but could not
Mustapha, my friend from Nakuru, Kenya, who has continued sending messages of encouragement and has even called me during my past climbs
Nuru Inyangete, my cousin and renowned architect, who climbed Kilimanjaro while studying at Weruweru Secondary School many years ago and has recently decided she will climb the mountain again, probably prompted by the recent succesful climb of Kilimanjaro by her daughter
Phillip Kissanga from Austria who visited Tanzania last year and has climbed the Austrian Alps
Salum Mwaimu, journalist and television presenter at Dar es Salaam's Channel 10/DTV
And others who have yet to confirm
If you want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity or just for fun, please get in touch with me through the email address on my profile.
Le Huynh, who accompanied me on my first Mt. Kilimanjaro climb in 2008, is an individual who likes to travel. He also shares experiences of his travels with friends he has met along the way. He sent this despatch after his recent visit to the Peruvian Andes.
He sent these fascinating photos of Manchu Pichu, the ruins of the ancient Incan city located on the Peruvian Andes mountains. Manchu Pichu was built about 1500 AD.
Le is a member of the Kilimanjaro Club, which lists people I know who have scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, including those who join me every year on the annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb and those who join me for my non-charity climbs.
known to listeners as "Fredwaa", the famous radio presenter at Mwanza's Radio Free Africa. We traveled on the ship, commissioned in 1957, on the overnight voyage from Bukoba to Mwanza.
Also on board was Peter Omari...
Programs Manager at Mwanza's Kiss FM. Fredwaa is also the Programs Manager at Radio Free Africa. Fredwaa also regularly anchors a special end-of-the year program on BBC's Swahili Service reviewing the year's music hits.
For the past five years, "Fredwaa" he has won the best announcer award for the Lake Zone at the Kilimanjaro Tanzania Music Awards.
He told me he keenly monitored my Kilimanjaro Climb last year and is interested to join me during this year's climb. He also informed me he is a cousin to Gerald Hando who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with me last year. Gerald has confirmed he will join me on this year's climb for the second consecutive year. I am looking forward to seeing the two cousins going head-to-head, representing two of Tanzania's leading FM stations
One of the participants of last year's Mwalimu Nyerere Charity Climb, Notburga Maskini, has announced her intention to contest the parliamentary seat for Rombo Constituency in Tanzania's general elections in October. Rombo's current MP is Basil Mramba, former Finance Minister in President Jakaya Kikwete's government.
Notburga announces her candidacy for Rombo Constituency in Dodoma recently.
I know enough about Notburga to realize she is a determined person, and the fact that she is challenging Mramba is no small undertaking. She is no small fry herself; she is currently the Vice President of the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA).
These are some of her quotes in relation to her candidacy when she made the announcement in Dodoma recently:
I have the experience and the ability of doing this work because I have worked in management and public administration for 25 years...
I have a great responsibility to pay my debt to society....
I agree with the concept advocated by development and gender experts that the absence of a balance in the involvement of both genders in development plans by decision-making bodies is one of the reasons for the absence of sustainable development and crucial social services....
I have great respect for public servants and leaders who fulfill their responsibilities to the people by providing exceptional public service, and with integrity; Public servants to whom respect comes from commendable public service to the people and not through money or their position....
Rombo district has many development challenges...environmental degradation, scarcity of water, and poverty among a great number of its residents, particularly women, youth, children, and the elderly with special needs....
If the general elections are used judiciously, it is an opportunity to introduce change that is directed at improving the availability of relevant social services for the development of the people....
I will cooperate with other stakeholders to ensure that opportunities such as Saccos [Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies] and financial institutions that provide preferential loans; and the opportunities that are available in the international community, for example, protection of the environment (clean development mechanism) are used to obtain capital for investing and for self-employment in agriculture, the environment, animal husbandry and income-generating projects....
Tourism, small-scale industries, and small scale businesses will contribute towards raising the level of the economy and the use of the opportunities of the East African Common Market; this is because Rombo constituency is practically at the entrance of that market....
The actual environmental conditions surrounding Rombo constituency is a challenge confronting the livelihood of this and the next generation. I have the intention of participating and developing a sustainable plan to protect and improve our resource and natural heritage, Mount Kilimanjaro....
L-R: Gerald Hando of Clouds FM, Notburga, and the author of this blog just before we began our Mt. Kilimanjaro climb last October.
On 17th August 2009 at the famous Lango Moja area of Mwanza City, I bought a used pair of hiking boots (photo, below) for my next Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. The place has a wide selection of used shoes, some in
near perfect condition. But not this pair, which showed strains of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro by the time I descended in October.
On 25th March 2009, under the cultural tourism initiative of Mara Region, I joined students from Queens University in Kingston, Canada, who visit Butiama every year for their teacher's training practical assignments, in climbing Mt. Chamuriyo - the mountain with the highest peak in Mara Region.
Before the climb, we visited the premises of the local medicine man and the visitors were kind to pose in front of my camera.
We later climbed to the peak, where the ruins of a German Fortress from the German Colonial period (pre-1918) still stand.
