Hajja Salesjana - May June 2016

9 The Kilimanjaro Challenge is a yearly challenge where a group of Maltese people embark upon a year-long commitment of training and fund- raising to help the Missionary Movement ‘Jesus in thy Neighbour’. After volunteering in Kenya in 2014, I was left with a feeling of wanting to do more for people and children with fewer opportunities. I felt that I am so lucky to be born in such a society and to have somany riches aroundme. Having the opportunity of just catching a glimpse of other realities, left me with a drive to help and do just a little bit more, to try to bring about a change for the better. One day, about a year ago, I stumbled upon the Facebook page of the Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta. It caught my eye immediately as it seemed like a thing which would quench my thirst for adventure, as well as giveme another chance to go to Africa and offer myself to help in the community I will be in. So in a few days, there I was, signing up for the next Kilimanjaro Challenge. The whole process kicked off with a series of meetings. We were given information about all the aspects of the challenge, logistics and finances. However, later on I discovered that no matter how many tips people give you, and no matter how much you hear about the experience, the real experience and challenge is totally unique. The Kilimanjaro Challenge 9 (KC 9) started gradually shaping up and it proved to be a real challenge, not only during the trip itself, but also during the whole preparatory year beforehand. You don’t sign up for the trip, you commit yourself for a cause. We were going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, the 4th highest peak in the world, the highest mountain in Africa, and also known as the Roof of Africa. It takes one whole week to reach the peak and to go back down again, and the best thing of all was that we were going to be climbing it for charity. We were going to raise enough funds to build a school in a very remote and poor village called Sorsa, in Ethiopia. The KC 9 members started a year of daily training, which admittedly was quite a big sacrifice. Being tired or having any social commitment was never an excuse, so each of us had to dedicate and sacrifice time and sleep to train hard for the upcoming mountain climb. We used to have Sunday, early morning, 20km treks starting from 4am or 5am, Monday 15km night trek and Wednesday 3-4hrs hill training sessions. Then we were all expected to do our own personal training. (To be continued) Quest for the Roof of Africa ( 1 ) by Claire Falzon We are pleased to bring to you the adventure of a lifetime Claire Falzon, an Occupational Therapist, a Salesian Animator and SPYS member, has recently embarked upon for a very noble cause. We will share with you her inspiring story bit by bit. Enjoy the climb to the breathtaking summit.