Kilimanjaro Top Ten + 1

I shouldn’t be doing this.

Most of the hikers are now on safari and a couple of others on their long routes home. By virtue of proximity to Tanzania and World Cup tickets to Portugal vs Spain, I arrived home first by a long shot. Today, while the others are chasing lions or trying to sleep off their exhaustion in airports, I’m hungover at work and doing a fabulous job of earning my keep. Within a couple of hours of de-planing I was several vuvuzela beer bongs deep and being ushered by police out of Cape Town Stadium amidst throngs of screaming (real) Spanish soccer fans. My Spanish singing was totally on point and I am tremendous role model of how one should recover from 8 sleepless nights and an extremely challenging physical feat. Welcome back to Sea Level!

I should allow time for the others to gather their thoughts and photos onto this blog before chiming in, but on the flight home I came up with my Top 10 list and am just too excited (read procrastinating the mountain of work staring at me) to wait.

So hear goes, subject to opinion:

10. After starting a tally for the number of times Chloe (the gynecologist) brought up ‘girl parts’ into conversation, it was usurped by a group tally for bodily functions. We lost count. You get very close at altitude.

9. Jenni imitating Rocky at the Philadelphia Art Museum upon reaching camp on Night One. Those punches were dangerous.

8. Fred hiking 4 out of 6 days in blue jeans and Lacoste t-shirts. He wins the Best Dressed at 5,000m amsl award, maybe ever. Unless hairstyles count, in which case Camille’s experiment with no-rinse powder shampoo was hot – she looks good with silver hair.

7. Trish, Lucas and Kiran’s camp-made (lower than home on the ‘made’ pecking order) version of The Blair Witch Project. Even better live.

6. After requesting Swahili lessons, the porters sent Aimee-Noel and Kiran off with ‘powa ka chizi komandizi, powa ka chizi komaparachichi’ – crazy banana, crazy avocado. Says alot about the persona of this duo.

The next day, Isaiah, our guide looked at Kiran and told him ‘TMBB – too much blah, blah.’ Kristin, also keen to learn Swahili. excitedly asked him to say it slower so she could understand. Teeee Emmm Beeee Beeee…

5. Trish be-friending 7 year old Moosa by chatting him up while he was meant to be tending goal in soccer at the Sports Day. Their friendship cost his team several goals and him the respect of his teammates, but Trish is still proud of herself. Way to be a role model Cubellis.

4. Paloma, on summit night, asking Jenni ‘can you please pull down my pants?’ It was too cold to take her mittens off, but when you gotta go, you gotta go. Now that’s teamwork.

3. Fred leaping up in the middle of the night and announcing that there were galloping animals outside the tent…..that turned out to be Aimee-Noel sprinting to the facilities in -15 C with a bad case of travelers ‘ladoooona’.

2. Lucas chasing Kristin at full sprint at 4,400 metres amsl blaring Lady Gaga on his iphone. ‘Make, gasp, it, gasp, go, gasp, away, gasp.’

1. Zeus (Kiran – I eat lightning and crap thunder) declaring himself ‘the first to blow chunks on Kilimanjaro’ and thereby initiating a 24 hour puke-a-thon. In a most impressive display of courage Kristin, Lucas, Camille (12 times) and Kiran (lost count) barfed their way up a 9 hour, 5.4 km, 1,200 metre elevation hike to the summit in -25 degree weather.

PS Zeus capped it off with a beer upon returning to lower altitude – first food he successfully stomached in 36 hours.

Bonus #1 – Reaching Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres amsl at 7am June 27th with all ten Climbers. Capping off a hilarious and challenging spiritual journey that will stay with each of us forever.

Aimee-Noel

We Made It!!

All ten climbers summited Uhuru Peak yesterday (June 27) at 7am!!
With a success rate of 80% and 4 pukers on the ascent (Camille threw up TWELVE times and still made it!), this team was nothing if not determined.

Back in Moshi very briefly, we will be updating the blog with details of the trip of a lifetime and hundreds of photos over the next few days.

The team is filthy, exhausted and smiling ear to ear. We couldn't have gathered a better group of random people if we tried and most definitely out-did the New Mexicans!

This is Africa

Two days into our trip, we haven't even started the climb but already have a couple of epic adventures and even more funny moments = off to a great start.

After meeting in Nairobi on Sunday, the group embarked on a 'six' hour bus ride from Nairobi into Moshi. 'Six' sloooowwwwwwly turned to nine by the time we pulled up covered head to toe (nose and ear) covered in dust and unable to walk properly with cramped legs. Welcome to Africa!

In Moshi we are staying for 2 nights at 'Shira's Place', a guesthouse run by Pamoja Tunaweza, an empowerment organization that works with 150 HIV positive women from the city and surrounds. In this project they run the lovely little guesthouse and cook simply phenomenal meals.

Well fed and thoroughly cleaned, we spent today participating in a sports day in Chimbwe, a small village on the foothills of Kili. We previously arranged the day through an organization call Minjeni - yet another community empowerment group focused specifically on the residents of Chimbwe that provides economic, agricultural, health and education initiatives.

During the school holiday, they run educational and sports programmes for kids and invited us to participate. A perfect fit.

After a knee knackering 30 minutes of slipping and sliding up muddy roads in a 'dala dala,' we were deep in the foothills, covered in mud (its gonna be a dirty trip) and experienced a day few of us will ever forget. 80 kids aged 4-11 split their time between a 'Speak Up' workshop educating them how to get help if ever violated in the home or community (the prevalence of intra-family/community rape is high) and playing sports on the football field.

Our team led the sports program portion of the day. And the pictures will tell the million words. When they are, pay close attention to both our and the kids' smiles.

SHLF supports grass roots organization with broad reach. We believe the individuals and organizations on the ground are not only the best suited to have the biggest impact on the youth but typically have the greatest need for financial and capacity building support.

While we aren't partnering with Minjeni, they helped reinforce the importance of the work done by grass-roots orgs. Their impact on the community is profound and very visible. We were honoured to be their guests.

We begin hiking first thing tomorrow money. Spirits are high and laughs are abound. We've worked hard training and fundraising to get to this point, and in many ways this becomes our reward. We are giddy with excitement with some nerves on the side after stories of altitude sickness and knowing there is no way of knowing how your body will react. The group is getting along fabulously and have been put in the running to 'out-do the New Mexicans.' Stay tuned to find out what that means!

We will do our best to e-mail update this blog on the way, but won't hold our breaths.

Thank you again for your support and looking forward to reaching our goals!

The Team

We're here!!

The internet is really slow here in Moshi, so I'm sharing an email that I just sent to my family :)

Just wanted to post a quick note before we leave on the climb tomorrow to tell you I'm here safely and doing great. My trip was long, but good, and the group I'm with is great. We had an interesting 9 hour ride from Nairobi to Moshi (very little infrastructure, so terrible roads), then a good dinner last night at the place we're staying. It's warm, but not too hot, and today we went up the mountain to play sports and games with a group of school children there - it was amazing. Even without being able to communicate with them, we all (kids and us) had so much fun. We're just in between hiring gear and getting last minute supplies, then heading to a friend of Aimee-Noel's for dinner.

Also, I've decided that I'm going to do a 2 day safari with two of the group members: most people are doing a 4 day, which I don't have time for, but after not seeing any animals other than cows and sheep yesterday, I figured if it worked, I'd do it, so I am :). I'll leave the 29th and be dropped off at the airport on the 30th for my flight to Nairobi (so warning, I'm going to be a little dirty when I get home I think lol).

We're all pumped and ready to hit the mountain tomorrow, and have a goal of being the most fun group that our guide, Antipas, has ever had. Given that it feels like we've know each other for ever and not just 2 days, I don't think that will be a problem.

Wish us luck...and don't worry if I'm not posting for the next week, but check out the blog on the http://kili.shlf.ca site because a couple of my team mates have blackberry service and will try to update that blog from the mountain.

By: Jenni

Are we there yet?

Wow. Its really happening. In three days I'll be on a plane to Tanzania and in five days I'll begin ascending Mount Kilimanjaro along with nine others who are flying in from Canada, Haiti and South Africa. We began planning this trip approximately eight months ago but for me it only started to feel real when I booked my flight and even more so now as I pack my bags. I'm more than ready to go.
Time for a few more shout outs. My friend Eva Hughes and her hubby Rob, along with my friend and former colleague Renee Burt who posted my fundraising page to their profiles. Laura Wiese from MGA Entertainment for donating toys to the Foundation to be distributed to underprivileged youth (Laura also made the donation which put me at my goal of 10K!). My fiance Chet Dhole for donating Kraft food for both the hikers during the climb and for us to donate to orphans in the villages near Kilimanjaro. Chet's dad Gulab for passing on my fundraising link to family members. It's amazing how something so simple can make such an impact. Thank you for going the extra mile to make a difference.
When I woke up a couple days ago and saw that I had made my 10K goal, I was all smiles. So what did I do? I raised my goal to 11K. I'll never stop as long as I know I can do more. While I am leaving in only three days, I have little doubt that the message I send upon my return along with photos of the climb will bring in additional funds. Hmmm....I may just need to raise that goal to 15K?
If you have never been to Africa, I can't even express in words what a beautiful continent it is. This is my second trip to sub-saharan Africa and hopefully not my last. One week after my trip I finish my employment in Abu Dhani and two weeks after my trip I head back to Canada permanently. All in all, this has been a very exciting time for my lately and what a way to end my two-year stay in the UAE.
Thank you again to everyone who has helped make a difference and I am looking forward to seeing many of you in Canada this summer.
Next stop Kili.
Kristin

It Is Here. Once in a Lifetime.

Kilimanjaro? Sure. But I'm talking about the 2010 Soccer World Cup!

South Africa is on FIRE! This past week, the world’s biggest sporting spectacle descended on Africa for the very first time. I speak on behalf of a continent when I say we couldn’t be more excited. It is electric, inspiring, amazing and we have gone bananas. I am loving every second of it.

Having had the opportunity to participate in sport at many different levels – from playing with barefoot kids to competing internationally to watching professional games and Olympics, this World Cup reminds me again of sport’s unique value in the world. Sport is the only thing that brings the whole world together for good.

Sport in South Africa, like everything else under apartheid, was divided among colour lines: rugby for whites, soccer for blacks, and resources designated accordingly. My favourite story comes from my close friend who was South Africa’s top woman basketball player for years and comes from fabulously enlightened and educated mixed parents (at a time when it was illegal). While attending private school in Cape Town, she was banned from playing basketball during lunch hour. Not because the authorities disliked basketball, but because they were afraid it would spill-over into soccer and subsequently damage the reputation of the school!

Fast forward fifteen years and, like much else, that legacy remains; on both sides of the sporting fence. Despite efforts from leaders and fairytale moments turned blockbuster movies (Invictus) South African sport remains sharply divided and imbalanced. Across the country, barefoot children continue to kick balls of tape around the townships while Matt Damon look-alikes take to lush green stadium fields on Saturday mornings. Look at your screen the next time you watch a South African rugby game or catch Bafana Bafana as they take the field.

I am in love with South Africa as a country. Inexplicably, I have been since I was a kid. I was old enough to remember Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and to be confused by reports of a country so divided, but too young to understand the significance. Sixteen years after reading my first South African book and nine years after first setting foot on its red soil, I now call this storied nation home. I am drawn to a place where change is so imminent and you are challenged to stand outside yourself every single day and ask what you did to make it happen, for better or for worse. Most of all, I am inspired by my peers and friends who take their responsibility for change so personally. It makes for great people, I promise. But that doesn’t mean it's all inspiration all the time; like everywhere else on this great planet, progress is invariably frustrating and complex.

Come World Cup kick-off, I was released from the office to join friends and throngs of SA supporters painted, hollering and blowing their (now infamous) vuvuzelas. The city was unreal. I ended up in a watering hole stuffed fit to explode with mostly white South Africans. We partied through the Opening Ceremonies (SITers, please say you rocked out to Thandiswa Mazwai’s version of the Nqongqothwane?!) and waited excitedly for Bafana Bafana to take the field. The air was thick with spine tingling excitement, flags waved furiously and drunk people sang out of tune.

By the time the players arrived and the National Anthem came on, I needed to bite my lip.

It is just a game. They all are. Pointless, really. Running around a patch of grass trying to kick a ball through posts? But a bus full of 50 year old white men spilling onto the sidewalk decorated in their national colours to belt out a 15-year old National Anthem in 4 languages for a group of young black men playing a sport they may otherwise consider beneath them; I’ll take it any day.

And that’s to say very little of what this World Cup means to this remarkable country and this magical continent. I happened to be working in Ghana when they launched the World Cup and happily paid witness to a colourful parade un-like anything I have experienced. I was in Kenya three weeks ago when AFC Panthers played heated rivals Gor Mahia in the Kenyan Premier League in front of the rowdiest and most vibrant crowd I have ever danced with. Pride, passion and even hope came hand in hand to Africa in droves with this World Cup.

The Unofficial anthem of the 2010 World Cup ‘Waving Flag’ by K’Naan, a Somalian, was adopted by Canadian artists to pay tribute and raise funds for Haiti after the Earthquake. It gives me the chills every time:

‘Give me Freedom. Give me Fire. Give me Reason. Take me Higher’

It is so much more than a game. I am the first to admit a sporting spectacle provides a band aid for larger and more important issues, but we need inspiring moments to help believe in the impossible and to come together every once in awhile just for good.

I get the fortune of running rampant through streets shaped by the legacy of apartheid with people of all backgrounds and nationalities. I wish I could be there to capture the moment when a dream comes to life in a young person’s eyes this month; when they find their own reason, their own fire. Or to look back in time at Siphiwe Tshabalala (the first goal scorer of the 2010 World Cup) as a kid playing barefoot soccer with a ball of tape in Soweto. I think of all those kids in Haiti where soccer is the national obsession and wonder how many of them saw Tshabalala’s goal and now dream of scoring their own.

SHLF wasn’t built to produce World Cup athletes or unite divided countries. We believe in the inherent value of sport to educate and develop people in a positive manner and were built to provide these to as many kids as possible. But in a week like this, I feel validation for choosing sport as our vehicle to Make a Difference in the world and renewed inspiration to do it even bigger and better.

The bad news is that with 1 week to departure for Kili, the World Cup has me eating and drinking all the wrong things and ending up in all the wrong places at all the wrong hours (as well as missing tickets to TWO games while hiking, doh!). The good news is that it is soooo worth it!

Packing List

For all the travel I do, I hate packing. And although I’ve gotten good at it when it comes to work travel – lots of black and white and mixing and matching – Kilimanjaro is a different story.

I have a day of air travel on either side, two days before and two after the climb on the ground, the six day climb itself, and then to top it all off I’m heading straight to my family cottage on Manitoulin Island when I get back to Canada on July 1st. This means that I’m going to be going through about seven climates in two weeks. Luckily, I’m not out to impress on the climb or at the cottage, so I’m not worried about looking cute or having a lot of cosmetics with me (which actually makes packing a lot easier lol), but I am going to be in airport lounges during layovers and I’m conscious of wanting to look presentable, and of course the biggest thing of all is that I want to make sure I’m warm on the climb. I figure that if I’m wearing the same couple pairs of shorts on the ground and at the cottage, no big deal, but I’m having trouble with things like pajamas and footwear…really anything that I will need to wear when I’m not climbing.

Good news is that I’ve sent an email to my friend and Kili veteran Lindsay and I hope to chat with her before I leave on Saturday. The other good news is that I did a trial run of packing the major things I’d piled in my room and I have lots of space left to make additions. I’ll have to do a bit of re-organizing after I receive the shipment of trail mix I’m waiting on that one of my fellow climbers arranged (I volunteered to bring our snacks because I can check a third bag), and I still need to figure out toiletries, but I’m not too worried about finding space. And when it comes down to it, we have a buffer day in Moshi on the 22nd to pick up anything we may have forgotten or decide we need for the trek.

So as for how I’m feeling, I’m definitely excited, but nervous too, and my brain has been all over the place since Saturday when the week countdown began. Luckily I was distracted that night by an event that the MBA class hosted in support of the climb (have I mentioned what a great group of people are in the Program?! They came to me and offered to donate the proceeds from a social event they put together to my climb and raised about $800!), but there are now only 4 days of work between me and departure and I’m buzzing. Let’s just hope that I can focus until Friday afternoon.

Jenni

Ready or not, here I come!

I’m one of those people who has a tendency to live in the past or future (i.e. I’m usually thinking “In exactly one month I’ll be doing this,” or “It was three weeks ago I experienced this”) and Saturdays and Wednesdays have become very important to me: I leave Toronto on Saturday, June 19th and I start the climb on Wednesday, June 23rd. Don’t get me wrong, I try to live in the moment as much as I can, but taking myself back and forth in my mind can bring happiness and create motivation for the future. In any case, countdown to climb is at T minus 2 weeks!

I’ve had the great fortune of getting a lot of support from the current Ivey MBA class (they’re putting on another fundraising social event for me this Saturday), and earlier this week I was in Toronto at a networking event with the group and the big question was “are you ready?” My honest answer to that is yes – as ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve logged countless hours on the stair climber (the one that is like a perpetual stair case), my boots are feeling pretty good (altough admittedly I haven’t been outside hiking as much as I would have liked due to weather and being a little nervous to trek in the bush alone), and I think I’ve purchased all of the key things I’ll need to pack -I’ll find out this weekend when the piles in my room make their way to my new REI duffel bag….

The only thing that could stop me from getting to Uhuru Peak is altitude sickness due to lack of oxygen. The one thing I have no control over will be the determining factor, but the key to making it to the top is “Pole, Pole” or “Slow, Slow” in Swahili. I know that going slowly is going to be a challenge for me – I’m the kind of person who would rather run than walk – but I am determined to get myself to the top and get the picture to prove it, so I’ll do whatever I need to do to get there and hug the sign. Fortunately, I’m also a very curious person, and from what I’ve read, the best thing a climber can do is stick close to the guides, which will allow me to ask my million questions while keeping my pace in check .

Jenni