The six and a half day trek was not an easy one - they faced tough weather conditions, heavy rains, extremely cold weather, wet clothes, icy winds, snow storms, rocky and hard terrain, steep climbs, lack of oxygen making them breathless and causing nausea. They passed through some breathtakingly beautiful and picturesque spots - pristine snow covered slopes dotted with chocolaty stones and rocks; but some of the terrain looked desolate, cold and definitely unfriendly. Many a time, they were near their breaking points, wanting to return to the safety and warmth of their hotel room in Moshi. But they persevered on, cracking jokes to pull up each other's spirit and did not give up until they scaled the mountain and reached its summit - Uhuru peak.
There are several lessons to be learnt from their adventure which I hope they will remember all through their lives. After all, life is nothing but one big adventure - having its own ups and downs, valleys and peaks to scale, filled with moments of anxiety and happiness, beauty and bleakness. The never-say-die spirit that they exhibited here, to strive on despite challenges, to help each other while strongly believing in team work, to enjoy and share the moments of infinite beauty, to make light of their problems using humour...all these will surely come in handy to meet whatever challenges life may throw their way.We had a family celebration to honour their achievement and to hear their tale of fortitude. They all wore their t-shirts proudly proclaiming that they had "just done it"!
Hats off to you guys, you ROCK! May the KILI be with you!
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