Zambian woman conquers mount Kilimanjaro

WHEN adventure, courage and determination mix, you get stories like that of 31-year-old Mwanjiwa Kamanga a Zambian ICT specialist, who just recently conquered Africa’s highest peak, mount Kilimanjaro.

For long, Kamanga’s dream and top agenda on her bucket wish list was to climb the highest mountain in Africa and single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world.

So in 2019, her opportunity to finally hike the mountain came, but things just failed. In 2020 again, another opportunity presented itself, but unfortunately, Covid-19 opposed. Later last year, she attempted to organise another trip with her friends, but it failed once more.

But were these failed attempts in five years enough to shatter her dreams? Well, not even a single bit.

Kamanga was willing and determined to leave the comfort zone of her tech equipped and air conditioned office to sweat in a ‘suicide’ mission under the scorching sun for days.

And for this, she knew she had to prepare both her body and mind, if at all the opportunity ever presented itself. And so the young lady did.

She shared with Kalemba on how her dream finally came true last month.

“This year in April, I overheard a conversation about hiking Kilimanjaro, I jumped in, asked when the hike was set for and immediately asked to be added to the group and one of the things we did in preparation was spending time on our feet through walks, running and hiking locally,” she said.

While others might find it as a punishment, adventurous Kamanga found the six days of continuous hiking to the top of the mountain satisfying despite the trouble, pain and sweat it came with.

She walked for six consecutive days. Four for going up, and two coming down, slowly taking one step at a time, as the baby steps helped with the altitude acclimatisation.

“From the stories I had heard, and the content I had watched, I knew summit night would be tough. Chances of me getting sick or me wanting to give up were high. I had mentally prepared myself for the worst possible outcome and I went there taking it all one day at a time, hoping I would enjoy it all even the tough parts,” she shared.

As an adrenaline junkie that she is known to be, Kamanga knew giving up was never an option despite experiencing a wide range of emotions from enjoyment to extreme exhaustion.

“I think I kept pushing because I am curious and stubborn. I really wanted to see for myself what the summit would look like, and when it got tough, and I wanted to stop, the stubborn parts of me bargained with me to take one more step,” Kamanga said.

She added that what made the journey even more were the kind of people she hiked with describing them as “fun and entertaining” as they shared stories and lovely momentts.

“The first day was the easiest for me. Firstly we were well rested, we started the hike at 14:00 hours, got to the first camp just before 19:00 hours. The first leg of the hike from the gate is through a forest.”

“Though the walk had been long and the forest was wet from rains from the previous day, it was a sunny day. There was so much greenery, we had great views of water falls, trees, bridges, water streams and we encountered several groups of people either going up the mountain or coming down,” she narrated her experience.

Relief, excitement and an almost satisfaction feeling finally came to Kamanga after she finally reached the mountain top.

“The First feeling was relief that I could finally stop climbing, it was cold because the temperature was around negative 18 degrees. I’m grateful that I made it despite all the struggles of getting there, and thrilled that I conquered,” Kamanga proudly said.

And when asked if the experience was worth the wait, her response was a definite and proud yes, coming from a satisfied adventure.

Dear reader, if you have anything you dream of doing and becoming, do not despair, do not stop, do not give up. The journey might be rocky, the wait might be long, but the experience will definitely be worth it.

This advise is not about hiking alone, but, be a Mwanjiwa Kamanga spiritually!

By Buumba Mwitumwa

Kalemba September 23, 2024