Team UNICEF Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

Team UNICEF ready to go...

I’ve just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with a fantastic group of UNICEF Fundraisers! We are all exhausted but incredibly proud of challenging ourselves for children. 

And what a challenge it was; from the heat of the African sunshine to sub-zero temperatures the team conquered the mountain and have raised over £100,000 to support children throughout the world.

We made it to the Roof of Africa!

The past eight days have been some of the most challenging of my life, but definitely some of the most rewarding. Climbing 5,895 meters is an extreme challenge but the wonderful Team UNICEF took each day their stride in preparation for the summit. United by raising money for children we worked together to fulfil lifelong dreams of standing on the Roof of Africa. 

There were times when we didn’t think it would be possible as we meandered around the mountain, each day climbing higher to acclimatise ourselves to the altitude. Using every ounce of physical and mental strength the majority of the group made it to the top. For some the effects of the altitude were too severe to summit but everyone who attempted is a hero for the children we're supporting.

Summit of Kilimanjaro

We were lucky enough to meet some of the children UNICEF supports in Tanzania and see examples of how the funds raised can support children throughout the world.

Tippy taps at Olmorog Vety Primary School

At Olmorog Vety Primary School we saw how, with UNICEF’s support, the children now have access to clean water, hand washing facilities and decent toilets. Such a simple everyday activity like hand washing is taken for granted in the UK but 92 per cent of schools in Tanzania lack functional hand washing facilities. Ahimidiwe, pictured right, proudly showed off their new and simple tippy taps. These, combined with hygiene education, can be directly responsible for saving the lives of children who otherwise could die from such an easily preventable disease as diarrhoea.

The trekkers also enjoyed playing games with the children such as football, the sack race and the lesser known; ‘catch the chicken’ game – which was lots of fun!

UNICEF Tanzania has recently piloted a project to give young people a voice. We visited The Young ReportersNetwork where children from the Moshi region have the opportunity to learn and practice journalist skills, giving them the confidence to discuss difficult issues such as HIV and AIDS, teen pregnancy and disabilities. We were all incredibly impressed with the children’s knowledge and confidence as they interviewed some of the team for their next radio programme.

Joining in the fun at Olmorog Vety Primary School

Visiting these projects assisted in the team’s motivation to climb the mountain and to continue fundraising for the world’s children on their return home.

Thank you to everyone involved and to everyone who has supported us to fulfil our dreams and transform children’s lives.

Top tips for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Team UNICEF

Having just completed Trek Kilimanjaro for the World’s Children I wanted to share my top tips to make climbing to The Roof of Africa a bit more comfortable...

• Pack Light

Packing for the trek seemed just as challenging as all the training. Sticking to the strict 15kg weight limit was hard work but when on the mountain I still found I’d brought a bit too much. Don’t worry about extra clothes or a ‘clean’ fleece – everything you wear will stink so just pack one of everything and you’ll be fine.

Also remember that you need to re-pack every night so don’t squeeze everything into your tiny bag as this will be so much harder to do in the small tents at 6:30am every morning..!

• Let there be light

Light is so important as it gets dark early and trying to pack up your tent with just one head torch can be challenging. I always take small disk lights camping with me and swear by them. They are light and small but those extra rays of light will make all the difference in your little tent

• Hydrate

It is drummed into you every day of the trek but make sure you drink lots. Everyone’s different in the amount they need to drink, at my tiny 5ft 1 though I still put away at least 4 litres a day. There’s nothing worse than suffering from headaches, tiredness, etc just because you didn’t drink enough.

Drinking from the camelback

A couple of tips I’ve always used in making sure I keep hydrated is to add rehydration salts to my water carrier – it makes the water purification tablets taste a bit better and keeps you on top of hydration.

I always recommend a platypus or camelbak  Having the tube easily accessible makes it so much easier to constantly keep drinking rather than having to stop to take your water bottle out of your bag. It also helps when you’re backs aching from carrying all the water to make yourself drink in order to make your load lighter...!

I bought an insulated tube  for summit day but the tube still froze. I managed to get a litre of water down though as I carried a smaller platypus inside my jacket to prevent it from freezing.

Keeping warm in the tent

• Keep warm

A hot water bottle was one of the best presents I received before the trek and it made the world of difference in the night.

• Tidy up

A top tip passed on before the trek was to bring nappy sacks as mini rubbish bags in the tent. Ideal for collecting all the wet wipes, plasters & rubbish in the tents each day.

Trekking in the sunshine

• Pack for the hot as well as cold

I brought lots of thermals, fleeces a big down jacket, gloves & scarves which were all really useful later on the trek but the first few days were beautifully warm. This was wonderful apart from only having one stay-dry T Shirt. I’d recommend a long sleeved, light weight stay-dry T Shirt for the first few days, this will keep you cool and also protect you from the strong African sunshine. (don’t forget your sun cream!)

• Enjoy it.

Apart from a few hours trudging up the mountain in the dark on summit day I enjoyed every second of the trek. Go at your own pace; slowly, slowly. Take in the beauty of the country and enjoy the once in a life time experience.

A day on Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro!

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life – but apart from a few dark hours on summit day it is one of the very best experiences I’ve had. Taking the Rongai Route Team UNICEF took eight days to complete our adventure. My favourite day of the trip was as we headed to Mawenzi Tarn on day four.

Clear view of the mountain

We awoke to a clear view of ‘the hill’ as our Expedition Leader lovingly refers to the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

 A few of the group begin to feel the effects of the altitude at 3,600 meters with headaches and nose-bleeds. Luckily nothing serious though as we set out with the African sun beating down on us as we begin our steady assent. ‘Pole Pole’ means ‘slowly slowly’ in Swahili and is repeated many times today as the air thins we have to pace ourselves carefully.

Trekking to Mount Kilimanjaro

It’s such a beautiful walk today and a reasonable challenge similar perhaps to climbing Snowdon but with the altitude effecting our energy levels. The views are breathtaking as we walk above the clouds they look like cotton wool cushioned beneath us.

A slightly steeper assent and the air becomes cooler, adding a few extra layers of clothing for warmth we begin to descend to our campsite. The bright yellow tents are a welcome site, as is the knowledge that we’ll be staying two whole nights so there’s no need to pack/re-pack our kit bags.

Trekking above the clouds

We have a free afternoon, some of the team take a nap, read, or write their journals. I tool a gentle stroll to admire the views in the clouds. I couldn’t resist leaving a memory of UNICEF on the mountain so created a UNICEF sign out of rocks.

Leaving a UNICEF memory 

Some of the more energetic in the group set up a game of cricket, with strictly no running to preserve their energy for the rest of the climb! This quickly gathered spectators as people emerged from their tents looking rested.

High altitude game of cricket

Before we knew, it was time for dinner and another delicious concoction was created. It’s amazing the food that can be produced from ingredients the porters have carried on their backs and cooked with limited facilities.

The team have gelled so well and every meal time we share stories, dreams and ambitions. It’s such a wonderfully diverse and interesting group and I feel very proud to be part of it. Each of us doing our small bit to support UNICEF and the children like those we were lucky enough to meet at the beginning of our adventure. Thank you to everyone who has supported us.

Climbing Snowdon

Kilimanjaro Brochure

It’s just 10 weeks until I set out for UNICEF’s Trek Kilimanjaro for the World’s Children As part of my training I wanted to climb Snowdon. Luckily a couple of mates were up for the challenge, including my travel buddy, Lizz. Lizz summated Kili last year so has lots of tips and advice to offer. In fact she and her sister, Kat, feature on the front cover of our brochure 

Friends, old and new, set off to Wales early Saturday morning. British summer wasn't playing ball and as we crossed the border into Wales the heavens opened! After a five hour drive we aimed for the car park of the Pyg Track. Even in the pouring rain it was full so we drove further down the mountain, meaning we began our hike by walking two miles up to the beginning of the track.

Ready to go

To be honest the first twenty minutes or so were really hard work and made me realise I need to up my training for Kili. But after I’d got into the swing of it I began to really enjoy it.

The rain subsided for a while and the atmosphere on the mountain was jovial. Snowden is the most popular mountain to climb in the UK and taking the well trodden route up we met lots of fellow trekkers. Some were in training, some raising funds for charity, some taking the dog for a walk and others achieving a lifelong ambition.

Half way 

Unfortunately the rain didn't give us much respite and as we were approaching the summit it poured heavier and heavier. As well as physical training for my challenge this was also a good opportunity to test out my kit. My ‘waterproof’ jacket is not waterproof enough to handle the Welsh rain so I'm not going to risk it on Kili.

The wind picked up and the clouds were swirling around us. I actually thought I would be blown over! We could barely make out the trigpoint in the mist but as we carefully made our way to it we were really proud to have made it to the top!

We made it!

Grateful for the cafe at the top we dug into pastries and warmed up with hot chocolate. Unfortunately there was no view to admire though.

View from the top

The first half of the walk down was mostly in the rain so we had to pick our way carefully as everything was becoming even more slippery. As we overlooked one of the lakes below the late afternoon sun began to peak through the clouds for a while.

Sheep!

With just another half an hour to go I almost landed flat on my face. I tripped but luckily Lizz was there to break my fall. All that was going through my mind when I fell was “oh no, I’m going to knock Lizz off the mountain.” Apparently at that same second she was thinking, “oh no, Alyrene’s going to break her nose.” Luckily neither happened and after a lot of giggling we continued to the base.

2.5 hours up, 2 hours down and 1,085 meters climbed! What a great achievement but there’s still a long way to go to reach the 5,895 meters summit of Kilimanjaro.

If anyone would like to join me and the rest of the UNICEF Trekkers on my next adventure we’d love to welcome you to the team. For more info email trek@unicef.org.uk or sign up today!