Conquering Everest is trio’s main mission

Coming from a mountaineering family, Faith Mwende has taken hiking as her hobby since she was a teen and now in her 30s, she boasts of the unique achievement of being one the few people to have climbed all the mountains in Africa.

She holds many hats including being a certified Investment and Financial Analyst, peer counsellor, motivational speaker and youth mentor. The mental health champion has also managed to get to the base camp of Mt Everest, the world’s highest mountain in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas, which she says was her best adventure in his entire mountaineering experience.

“Where I come from, Kilungu in Makueni county, is a mountainous and scenic place. Therefore, as a young girl, I would go for adventures and small hikes with my family. The first hike I can recall was in a small escapade of Mt Kyauttaa in Kilungu while in Standard Three. From picnics and nature trails as a young girl to outdoor activities as a Girl Guide and ranger in primary and secondary schools, respectively, the seed that germinated to feed my passion for mountaineering was sown. And it has been about my life since,” she starts.

Hiking warmth

Later on, together with her brother Stephen Makau, who is her trainer, started serious hiking. “So far, I have hiked Mt Kilimanjaro — the highest mountain in Africa, summited Mt Nyirangongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo and enjoyed the warmth coming from the volcanic crater and all the small mountains in Kenya several times. In countless times, I have been to almost all the Aberdare Ranges peaks, Mt Satima, Elephant Hills, Mt Longonot, Mt Kilimambogo, Mt Suswa, Kiou, Kayata Hills and Mt Kalembwani, among others,” says Mwende.

She has also hiked high-altitude mountains such as Mt Elgon, Mt Meru in Tanzania, Mt Kenya (six times), and Mt Kilimanjaro (twice).

Mwende not only does mountaineering as a passion, but together with her two friends with whom they share the hobby, they have an initiative known as “No Summit Too High”, where they climb mountains to raise awareness on mental health among adolescent teens. They are also Kenya’s first all-ladies mountaineering team.

Dr Irene Njeri Njogu, a medical doctor and clinical psychologist in training who is part of the trio, reveals that three-quarters of patients she attends to are not necessarily unwell, but have non-communicable diseases (NCDs) because of too much pressure and most of them are adolescents.

“The mental health problem sphere is scary. We thought of doing something to change this. The adolescence stage is a transitional period from a child to adult and so, these are the most affected lot. Study shows that 75 per cent of mental health problems begin at this stage, so we need to find ways to deal with them. Peer pressure is another thing that propels this due to impacts caused by social media,” she says.

Dr Njeri adds that in April next year, the three will be looking to climb to the summit of Mt Everest, together with James Kagambi, the first Kenyan citizen to climb to the mountain’s summit in April this year. Part of the funds raised for the campaign will be used to help them go to schools to address the challenges of mental health among the adolescents as they are in attempt of reducing stigma.

Impact making

“We are also working on ways to engage parents, as there is no impact made when we tend to talk to the adolescents about mental health, but back at home they live with toxic caregivers,” she says.

James Kagambi is popular for currently being the most experienced NOLS instructor with over 880 weeks in the field equivalent to 17 years in a tent. Trained in the US, he has shared his skills with the Mt Kenya Rescue Teams. 

“We want to bring attention to everybody and we need to address it now, and that is where the awareness comes in we thought our theme was “No summit Too High”, the highest peak we know is Everest, so let’s go. This is a bold move,” says Njogu.

The climbing of Everest presents many dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, and wind, as well as hazards from avalanches and icefalls. According to reports, as of 2019, over 300 people have died on Everest, many of whose bodies remain on the mountain.

Njeri is confident that as a medical expert, she will be able to handle her team. In the next five years, she believes that many people would have joined hiking locally. She would also like to see herself as the most popular mountaineer and climb all the African mountains.

Empress Ciku Kimani Mwaniki, who is one of the three women mountaineers, says that after getting a hip replacement last year in November after ailing from arthritis for seven years, she had to find a way to recuperate faster and mountaineering was her best exercise to join.

Maiden attempt

The 48-year-old mother of two says her husband, who is part of the Tunza Afya Africa campaign, which is part of the partners with the “No Summit Too High” campaign, told her about hiking and she made her first attempt in the Ngong Hills where she managed to finish.

“After I managed to hike Ngong Hills, my two daughters joined me and they are now part of it and that keeps me moving. Mwende, Njogu and I began this campaign in July this year and now we have hiked to the summit a total of eight mountains in East Africa,” she says.

Ciku adds, “Our first climb was at Oldonyo Sabuk. The Kenya Wildlife Service has been of great support as they have set a waiver for our team since we are marketing our mountaineering wildlife, which is part of the tourism industry. We want to promote the mountaineering sport not only locally, but also beyond our borders. As a medical specialist, I also have been doing first aid to the team. Before the climb, we check the blood pressure and the body composition analysis. As part of Tunza Afya, we want to monitor the effect of exercise and psychology on the body. Mountaineering is also quite rewarding to our children because it helps them get out and exercise to avoid that life of just staying indoors,” she says.

For Njeri and Ciku, climbing Mt Elgon was their most impressive hike. They say the mountain terrain is steep, “but the serenity was out of this world”. Before climbing the Everest, they are planning to climb to the summit of Mt Kenya, Mt Ruwenzori in Uganda and Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania through the guidance of Kagambi, as part of the preparation for the Everest challenge.

The trio is hoping to get more support from the ministries of Tourism and Sports, as they reveal that for one to climb Mt Everest, they need a budget of Sh7 million for the gear, air tickets, accommodation, camping fee and insurance.

“With finance being the biggest challenge, we also face other challenges while hiking including injuries. One needs to be cautious while climbing, especially for me having undergone hip replacement surgery last year. The other shortcoming has been the fact that I am a stay-at-home mum thanks to my nature of work. So, being away from home always gets my daughters uneasy,” says Ciku.

Similarly, Njeri poses that balancing between work and her hobby is quite a challenge, but she manages. She says: “What matters is how you get to balance your time. There is an impact we are making, as this is a sacrifice. After Everest, we will still do the climbing, as this is a good way to exercise. I also do much of climbing stairs and working out in the gym.”

In conclusion, Ciku warns mountaineers to stop littering carelessly on the mountains, as it’s a big threat to the environment.