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Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for a noble cause
2006-06-02 10:07:02
By Felix Andrew
When asked: Why she opted to undertake a challenge to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro last year? Former Miss Tanzania 2004 Faraja Kotta replied: ’’This is a climb for the best cause.
Its aim is to raise funds to fight against HIV/Aids in the country. And who are highly affected by the disease if not women and girls? For them I opted to conquer this mountain and through such feats AIDS could be conquered.’’
Two years earlier a man and a woman both living with HIV, Julius Kaaya and Antonia Kilegu, took up the noble challenge of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of the disease. As they put it: ’’Being HIV positive does not mean one is an invalid who should recoil waiting for death.’’
57 climbers will follow in their footsteps this year to conquer the highest mountain in Africa through Geita Gold Mine Kilimanjaro challenge against HIV/Aids 2006 for reasons similar to those of past climbers.
About 50, 000 people from across the world do climb Mt. Kilimanjaro annually for all sorts of reasons.
Since the year 2002, an annual climb with a difference, ’’Kili Challenge against HIV/Aids’ was introduced by Geita Gold Mine for dual objectives to raise awareness of the disease and its associated effects as well as money to fight against the scourge within Tanzania.
If one looks at the exercise closely he would further note some multiplicity of benefits combining building charity custom, individual goals, teamwork, highlighting importance of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the world and the ultimate contribution to national resources for the fight against HIV/Aids. As one participant, puts it in the 2004 climb: ’’Being on top of Kilimanjaro is a memento of a lifetime.’’
The charity climb is now inscribed in the national calendar. Besides financial gains the climb has raised the number of Tanzanians who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, which no one can deny it is a country’s beacon.
Kilimanjaro charity climb against HIV/Aids organised by GGM has so far taken over 190 people to Uhuru Peak, 90 percent of whom are Tanzanians.
40 people climbed in 2002, and three groups of 50 people each climbed the highest mountain in Africa in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively.
When asked why the climb and not something else? The former GGM Managing Director Peter Turner said: Truly ours is a mining company, but we have an obligation to pay back to society.
We did pay in various ways and this is one of them. … And surely our start has been momentous. About US $ 410,000 ( 420m/-) has been realised and disbursed to beneficiaries in the last four years.
All emanated from the government’s declaration way back in December 1999 that HIV/Aids is a National Disaster.
To GGM that was a call to action taking into consideration the fact that the HIV/Aids scourge is not only a national issue but also an international big issue,’’ Turner says .
The Kili Climb against HIV/Aids usually commences and ends in the month of June every year.
Let others join hands with GGM to turn it into success.
Besides money there have been other gains as well as the Chairman of the Kili Committee 2006, Steve Quigley explains: ’’The climb has impacted on the fight against HIV/Aids, it spelled out objectives, it created challenges and hurdles to mount showing in similar fashion we can win a war against the scourge.
The biggest of all however, the climb offers opportunities to share and enhances brotherhood and team spirit in this fight.’’
’’For instance sponsors and climbers join hands on one side; and GGM and beneficiaries are united on the other as funds for the fight against HIV/Aids are raised,’’ he further says.
The HIV/Aids pandemic is both disastrous a challenge to Tanzania and the world.
The dilemma facing the world today is to find an easier, proper and short-term solution to tackle HIV/Aids.
Questions being asked include, should humankind abstain from sex for good; should we rely on condoms to tackle the scourge; or should we keep on living as we are doing today?
These are some of the things being symbolized by the Kilimanjaro Climb against HIV/Aids.
Geita Gold Mine is determined to hold the torch and play its part in this fight because it is guided by the motto: ’’Looking forward to see that people are better off due to our operations being here.’’
Former Premier, Hon. Frederick Sumaye, put the business community’s role in the fight very plainly when he said: ’’If you are doing business in Tanzania then HIV/Aids is also your business.’’
He did not isolate types of businesses or the scale of businesses. What he pointed out was all businesses irrespective of size, from lone hawking Machingas to large scale businesses.
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