October 10th: The Habari Foundation school visit and Kili Briefing

I had really been looking forward to today. Not just because I had 5lb of school supplies I wanted to offload, but because we literally booked with Habari Adventure because of their commitment to bettering the whole community. Stan Wilfred, the owner of Habari, started his journey as a Kilimanjaro porter and has built and grown a company that is recognized for outstanding service to tourists/clients but more importantly, for the good treatment of his team and for contribution to education in the greater Moshi area. He started the Habari Foundation and through this, money is donated for school fees and supplies, food for kids, and to build out much needed school infrastructure.  Plus, Habari pays the monthly wage for 6 supplemental teachers. 

Sue and I had requested a little school visit on our "day off" before starting the hike.  Stan organized for a driver and an employee, Carolina, to take us to Roo Primary School. We started by visiting a class of 5 year olds. 60 of them!!! They were delighted to receive school supplies and in turn greeted us with English phrases their teachers recited to them. These kids were cute as a freakin' button, engaging and beautiful. They sang to us and welcomed us to take pictures and video too. It was AMAZING. My face hurt from all the smiles and for perhaps the only time in my life, I thought "I want one!" Inappropriate of course, but in my case, also completely harmless. LOL

Emotional overload!

We got a glimpse into a Grade 6 classroom too and met one of the teachers that Habari supports. Then came the tour. I have to say, I was impressed and a little surprised. The school is basic... except that it's not! The wee kids start out with half days before transitioning to full days at school by age 6. But even the half day kids get a hot meal at school before going home. There is a veggie garden and it's thriving. Fresh produce gets cooked into stew and served with beans and a cornmeal type thing I'd say is similar to polenta. This jovial lady is the cook;

Her kitchen is a simple affair. Prep is done here and some cooking too. Then outside there are more giant caulderons of food that smell just wonderful. The kids are washing their hands and lining up with plates and utensils. 

The kitchen is still a work in progress and Habari Adventures/Stan is providing financial aid for the building and improvement of it. A plaque acknowledging the generous contribution already adorns new bathroom facilities. A building each for girls, boys and staff. 

In the yard surrounding the classrooms, trees have been planted with the intention to create shade under which kids can play, sit and learn outside. The rainy season is just around the corner and school staff seem super psyched that this will accelerate the growth... of the trees and the plan! It's just so beautifully intentional and quite simple too; Make sure the kids have a healthy, safe environment in which to learn. Don't let money, clothing, supplies and other obstacles hold back children from the education they love and deserve. 

We ended the visit with a debrief back at Habari headquarters. 

This was where Stan talked to us about where we'd specifically like the money that was being donated, to go. After hearing that school fees, supplies and food were really doing well and that teachers were covered for quite some time by other donations already, we readily agreed that the instructure fund would be the best place for the money that we'd be giving. I was carrying financial donations from 2 ladies in my neighborhood: Donna Marino and Rosemary Hegarty and from Mark Mantei too. $500 goes a long way here and the appreciation was more than obvious. It was heartfelt.

This had been the perfect morning. Everything I had heard about the Habari Foundation, was true - but understated - and I was so proud that we had chosen wisely from afar, the right company with the right positive attitude to guide us up Kilimanjaro!

Want to know what follows the perfect morning? Our first meeting and briefing with our Kili guides. Going over "the plan" alongside our two new companions, Zar and Imogen. Yes... let's introduce Zar and Imogen first!

This morning we were asked if we'd consider a 4 person hike and include young Aussies in our group. Heck yes! Who doesn't love an Aussie?!

Zar and Imogen (26 years old) are Sydney lawyers and childhood besties. 

Imogen who introduced herself and said "it's like Imagine" to our guides, I henceforth called Imagine! She's incredibly intelligent, refreshingly honest and clear with her boundaries, funny, athletic and competitive in a good way. Imagine has doctor parents, 2 sisters and is well traveled. She is the voice of reason and calm to Zar's hyperactivity!

Zar is ... well, the spitting imagine of my friend Sal when we were 26! Also of Pakistani and European descent, this Aussie is witty and outgoing, smart and blessed with a photographic and verbal memory unlike anything I have ever witnessed. He can turn on accents of any kind, quote movies and song lyrics and decades of pop culture fun facts. Don't even get me started about his impressive knowledge about history! An old soul I think... because I have no idea how he has had enough lifespan to fit all this learning in?! He's an only child - maybe he spent a lot of time with books?

Sue and I immediately loved them and I took to calling them "the kids" collectively. Imagine was still Imagine too (or schmetterling) and Zar, I found myself calling "Sunshine" every so often too. 

I digress. The briefing:

Abdi is our head guide. He has a sparkle in his eye and a big smile but he also takes his job seriously and the meeting was well planned, full of info and circled back to ask us how we felt and if we had questions.

He emphasized from the getgo that we'd be treated like queens (and a king) but the first priority was always going to be safety. Abdi made no bones about it; The most important thing we'd need for a successful summit was a positive mental attitude.

Each time Abdi spoke and finished his thoughts, he asked us to turn our attention to Evance - who then had had his own words of advice and part of the plan to share. Evance is our second in command, guide. He started off a bit quiet and but you'll see later... once he got to know us a bit, he shared with us that winning personality that was simmering just below the surface. I came to rely on Evance a lot and have to say, I'm very grateful for the team that Stan put together for us. They were PERFECT.

At our first meeting, Abdi went over the route on a map and Evans did a bang up job of capturing some of it with my cellphone camera for me! A great sign of things to come. 

We rounded out the evening with a glimpse of Kili peak at sunset and by running into Zar and Imagine. 

At 8pm, I "felt ready" - not a moment too soon I guess! Tomorrow the real adventure begins and I'm ready to put to bed this feeling of trepidation with excitement and just walk "pole pole" (Swahili for slowly, slowly).