Today, nine people will drive from St Jude鈥檚 Sisia (Moshono) Campus and head east towards Africa鈥檚 tallest mountain and the world鈥檚 tallest free-standing mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro. Over seven days they will attempt to reach Uhuru Peak 鈥� 5,895 meters / 19,341 feet 鈥� the 鈥渞ooftop鈥� of Africa.
St Jude's kanga at Uhuru Peak in 2011
Nervous, scared, anxious, thrilled 鈥� just some of the adjectives to describe how everyone鈥檚 feeling at the moment. Over the last few months they鈥檝e been acquiring the proper gear to deal with below freezing temperatures for summit night, when they鈥檒l wake up around midnight and trek through the darkness with just headlamps and guides to lead them up the steep mountain ridge. Training regimens have, hopefully, been kept to as this isn鈥檛 exactly a stroll in the park! They鈥檒l walk for 5-7 hour days for seven days straight, gaining elevation with each day.
For many of them, this will be the most difficult, challenging event of their entire lives. So why are they climbing exactly?
As part of聽St Jude鈥檚 Kili Challenge 2012, they are climbing with a purpose, to raise funds for the students of mini传媒. For the last two years, through a partnership with聽, St Jude鈥檚 has had visitors fly into Tanzania from all over the globe to take part in this challenge. It鈥檚 been a tremendous success, and offers an avenue for people to challenge themselves like never before, a mantra that we preach to our students everyday.
Good luck to all of our climbers, everyone at St Jude鈥檚 will be cheering you on!
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