On the morning of February 4th, Evergreen Rotarians Greg Podd, Marianne Temple and Curt Harris stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest point in Africa at 19,341 feet). They were joined by Pat Temple, PDG (Utah) Monty Eggett and Dr. Don Weinberg and six young Tanzanian women on the climb: Elli, Martha, Aicande, Wajabu, Molly and Theresia.“Kili for Kisa 2018” was the second effort with the first climb held in 2016. The eight-day climb was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Evergreen and was held to support and bring awareness to AfricAid’s Kisa Project. AfricAid is a non-profit based in the Denver area and was started in 2000 by then-teenager Ashley Schuyler. The Kisa Project is focused on providing leadership and life skills training to Tanzanian girls in Advanced Secondary School. All of the six Tanzanian climbers are alumnae of Kisa, with five of them currently serving as mentors in the program. The American climbers and other Evergreen Rotarians provided funding to allow the girls the rare opportunity to climb a mountain they see daily but only dreamed that they might someday conquer.
Five of the six Tanzanians joined the six Americans on the summit (one had medical issues at 15,000+ feet). While all eleven were ecstatic they had achieved the goal, the girls had other emotions as well, including an even deeper commitment to their mission of helping other girls achieve seemingly impossible goals.
Kili for Kisa 2018 was an overwhelming success and Curt is considering a Kili for Kisa 2020 in the fall of 2020.
For more information of AfricAid and the Kisa Project, please visit www.africaid.com.