The Students
Participating Tanzanian students were selected by the staff of My World, Inc, our partnering organization, after the students expressed their interest in joining the Kilimanjaro hike by submitting an application and an essay. Selection criteria was based on their leadership ability and academic record.
Aisha Mwalimli, age 18
Aisha has always been very curious about Mt. Kilimanjaro living so near it. She said this was most amazing trip of her life, and it made her feel adventurous. She is the eldest of seven children whose parents run a small business and keep livestock at home in Tanga Town near Moshi. Her father is self-employed and does fermentation work. She is a good cook. She is a form two student at Wazalendo Secondary School where her favorite subjects are bookkeeping, commerce and biology. She plays netball and enjoys R&B and pop music. She wants to become a chief accountant or bank manager.
Bernard Makunai, age 19
“Study hard, so you can reach your dreams,” is an adage Bernard often hears from his parents---his father, a taxi driver, and his mother, who runs a small photocopy shop. During a chat halfway up Mt. Kilimanjaro, he confided, “I don’t want to let them down.” Bernard aspires for a career in international relations because he loves to learn about different countries and people. So far, the farthest he’s made it is Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania’s capital city, about eight hours from his home in Moshi. When asked where he’d travel if he could travel anywhere, without hesitation he says, “Sweden.” He adds, “They don’t have any conflicts there.” In the meantime, Bernard continues to study at Vunjo Secondary School in the HGL Program (History, Geography, and Language) and aspires to learned French and Spanish to make it easier to travel.
Frankie Riziki, age 21
“Is it coniferous?” Frankie asked Julius, our guide, who was, at the moment, holding the branch of a tree. This was only one of hundreds of questions that Frankie asked during our six-day hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro. One of eight siblings (Deo, Sesitra, Justa, Wilifred, Lidia, Felix and Columani), Frankie’s enthusiasm is only out weighed by his curiosity---always asking questions and always scribbling on scrap sheets of paper he had borrowed, stolen, and conned off the rest of us in the group. Frankie’s curiosity demonstrates he has a passion for his dream field of study at university: biology. These interests combined with his experiences in animal keeping, maize farming, and pig breeding made this trip up Mt Kilimanjaro like a honey pot to a bear. As a child, Frankie’s parents could not afford to send him to school, so he lived for a number of years with his grandmother in a remote Tanzanian village. “The problem was,” he explained, “My grandmother was really old and couldn’t do much work, so I spent so much time each day fetching water from the river (a 4 hour round trip walk) that I had no time to study.” Often times, he’d try to study by candle light under the sheets of his bed late into the night, which brought harassment from the other villagers. But study Frankie did and learned a lot about science; knowledge he got to see applied for the first time in his life, on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. “Does it produce asexually?” he asked Julius in regards to a little purple flower Julius had pointed out. Clearly, Frankie, has taken to heart what he says is “the best advice my mom ever gave me:” Study hard to go to the university, and don’t stay idle.
Francis Joseph, age 18
After his smile, the next thing that strikes you about Francis is that he seems very enthusiastic for life. His infectious positive attitude masks a life story that we found hard to believe was that of the same optimistic guy. The elder sibling of three (he has two younger sisters), Francis has rarely ever had a “home” in the same sense that that word usually means. His elderly parents live as nomads, moving from place to place carrying everything they own, looking for small farm jobs to be able to afford food. Because of this, Francis has moved around a lot: first in with his aunt, then friends, then neighbors, and finally, for much of the time, on the street. His two sisters live in foster centers in different parts of the country; his physically handicapped, youngest sister, was once housed by an American couple. At one point, while visiting her, he approached the couple about housing him, but because their resources were stretched they could not---though they connected him with the Mkombozi Center for Street Children in Moshi. Three years ago, at age 15, he moved into the center and for the first time in his life, began to attend school on a regular basis. He was enrolled in accelerated curriculum intended to catch him up on years of missed school. Somewhere in there he taught himself English, says he enjoys classes in civics and geography and he loves kids. “I love to organize games for the little kids in the village,” he told us, “and sometimes---when I can save up some money--I buy sweets to give away as prizes.” For a kid with no home and no real possessions this is an amazing demonstration of compassion. When asked what he’d like to be when he grows up, he pauses a moment and then he says “I want to be a social worker…to help orphans, children with disabilities, and street kids like me,” as a broad smile overtakes his face.
Habibu Mwaya, age 24
Possessing a smile that exudes warmth, Habibu, the eldest of five brothers, grew up in Moshi, Tanzania. An avid futbol fan, he hopes one day to attending the Dar Es Salaam Institute for Technology to become a computer technician---in this field he hopes to help people in Tanzania’s rural areas to be able to communicate and to help educate his friends and families to make their lives easier. Habibu speaks kiSwahili and English.
Immanuel Gilbert, age 18
Gilbert, as he likes to be called, was orphaned at an early age and was taken in by another family. The family’s limited income was stretch thin and he began to fight with the mother since he wasn’t her biological child, so he left for the streets. “Besides,” he said, “it was a lot of work and there wasn’t a lot of food and I wasn’t going to school.” After living on the street for a few years, he was taken in at the Mkombozi Center for Street Children where he now lives. He occasionally goes “home” to visit the family, but says, “I can only stay for a few days because otherwise they would expect, since I am older now, to give them some income.” “This,” he points out, “is why many kids leave their homes and become street kids. Gilbert is presently attending Julius Nyerere Secondary School in Moshi and hopes one day to become a lawyer.
Jackson Mohammed, age 19
Jackson’s mother is a fruit seller, and with her income as a single parent she tries to support Jackson and his two sisters---or at least earn enough money to pay for food, though often not enough for school. “My mother has always wanted to send me to school, but it’s hard for her to earn even enough to support herself.” Years ago, Jackson’s sister began to sell onions to help supplement the family’s income, and to send Jackson to kindergarten, but in his second month of school, his sister died of malaria “After that,” he said, “no one could help me.” “I left home to find some money or opportunity.” After living on the street for three years, he met an inspirational teacher, Mr. Mpombo, who helped connect him with the Mkombozi Center for Street Children, where he now lives and is provided school fees. “I am happy when I am at home to see my family, but I am less of a burden when I live at the center, because I can go to school.”
Juliana Minja, age 17
Juliana comes from Rombo Village near Moshi and is the first born in a family of eight, who runs a small retail shop. An avid cook, she was one of the three girls who prepared a meal for the sixteen of us the night before we set off on our climb up the mountain. Juliana attends Wazalendo Secondary School as a form two student where her favorite subjects are physics, chemistry and biology. Outside of school she enjoys athletics, basketball and floral arranging and aspires to become a doctor. Juliana's favorite memories from the trip was seeing the clouds from above, and seeing ice and snow for the first time. After she learned that she had been selected to join our 10 To The Top Team, because of an essay she had written, she ran 4 km daily until the day we departed up the mountain---which probably explains why she led all off us to the top.
Leonard Baicly, age 21
Growing up near Moshi, Tanzani at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, Leonard says he “saw suffering and so many people in the hospitals and clinics, especially people with AIDS and HIV” and because of those experiences, he wants to work in medicine. If you get past his quiet exterior, partially created by his insistent stutter, the depth of his personality becomes apparent when talking with him about his interests in music, writing, reading and helping people. He hopes one day to attend school at Tumani University in Dar Es Salaam to become a medical doctor.
Rose Minja, age 17
Rose comes from Marangu, at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the village where we began our climb. One of six children, her father is an auditor and her mother runs a small business. She currently lives in Moshi and attends Rau Secondary School as a form two student. Her favorite subjects are math, chemistry and physics. She likes dancing and watching TV, and her idols are Beyonce and Shakira. She aspires to become a medical doctor and describes herself as 'cool', 'studious' and 'enjoys sharing with people'. Her favorite memory from the trip was 'seeing snow for the first time.’