A group of 27 climbers with varying disabilities recently
conquered Mount Kilimanjaro and could be the largest single such group
to trek to the summit.
The trekkers,
drawn from Tanzania, Peru, Aruba, Israel as well as Texas, Montana, New
York, and New Jersey in the United States, used the Marangu route —
preferred by many non-professional climbers and also known as the Coca
Cola trail — to reach the peak.
Among
the climbers was a woman who was initially paralysed in 2009 and while
regaining her ability to walk, got involved in a car accident and
suffered a higher vertebra injury paralysing her even further.
There
was a Tanzanian man with paraplegia who lives at the base of
Kilimanjaro and always dreamed of making it to the top. There was a
paralysed woman from Peru, who travels the world by herself advocating
for inclusivity and accessibility. There was also an Israeli adventure
and thrill junkie who got paralysed after an accident.
Others
were a marathoner who had a debilitating injury and uses trekking poles
to cover long distances; a 9/11 first responder who was injured on that
fateful day, and several people with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Some of the team members help the physically challenged trekkers up Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. PHOTO | COURTESY | FAISR
Organised and
supported by the New-York based Friends of Access Israel, the group set
out on ...
February 4, for the five-day trek and summited the “roof of
Africa” on the morning of February 9.
This
feat lived up to the organisation’s objective of raising awareness on
the need to improve accessibility and inclusion for people with
disabilities and the elderly; and to enable them to live a normal life,
enabling them to work, travel and study, with dignity, equality and
independence.
“Twenty-seven people
arrived with the same forward-thinking individual goals. Yet it was a
desire to share their goal with others in verse and deed that enabled
them to conquer many barriers to reach the peak,” said the executive
director of Access Israel.
Friends of
Access Israel uses education, advocacy, travel and technology to
advance ideas that break down barriers for people living with
disabilities.
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