The Freedom Climb: 47 Women climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the ‘atrocities against women and children’
About a month ago, my neighbor, Lori, told me that she was going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. She didn’t go too in depth about why, nor did I look into it immediately after. It wasn’t until now, that I realized the enormity of this feat, and the reason behind it.
Lori, my neighbor, is the beautiful lady in the middle! PHOTO: http://thefreedomclimb.wordpress.com/
http://thefreedomclimb.wordpress.com/
The Freedom Climb is an event where [47] women from across the globe will begin their ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro beginning January 11, 2012 (National Human Trafficking Awareness Day) for the purpose of bringing awareness to the atrocities against women and children, and generating much needed resources to those who are oppressed, enslaved, exploited and trafficked. (Read More)
To give one an idea of the physical and emotional commitment this requires, the mountain itself is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.
According to the Mount Kilimanjaro Guide, the immense mountain is located in Tanzania in east Africa, in the north of the country, near the border between Tanzania and Kenya. (Tanzania map and Kilimanjaro map)
Because of the time change, their climbs often begin in the middle of the night (our time).
John Gash: http://thefreedomclimb.wordpress.com/
Every single day, these women are climbing for hours and the air only gets thinner. As the oxygen level decreases, many will experience nausea, weakness, fatigue and many other effects of altitude change. In addition to the altitude, they have to deal with sleeping in the cold. They sleep in tents and sleeping bags. Cheryl, one of the climbers wrote: “So another morning on the mountain! Got about 5 to 6 hrs of sleep…cccold, headaches and nauseous. Had to crawl out of my tent and sleeping bag twice to go…brrrrr! Days are mostly warm unless the clouds or fog rolls in, nights are cold. The pay off at night is the beauty! …”
http://thefreedomclimb.wordpress.com/
Regardless of the sometimes tortorous conditions, these women refuse to make this about them. They are climbing for a reason. Here are two separate notes from the climbers themselves:
“Going to bed soon. Two country’s worth of African dust in my nose and eyes and my ankles are swollen into cankels and nothing is sufficiently charged and my stomach is going nuts and IT FEELS SO GOOD. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. Saw the snowy summit of Kili lit up by the moon just now. Wow. Wow. Wow. The prayer team anointed us with oil and prayed over us individually and privately before they left today – what a beautiful blessing. I cannot get over how radiant each member of this team is. If people want to pray, have them pray for the people not on the mountain – pray for the ones in the slums, in the brothels, in the fields, in the clubs, and on the streets, the ones this thing is ACTUALLY all about.” – Madison Baczewski, Yesterday at 3 pm, EST
“We’re excited, but a bit scared. We’re not dwelling on that. We will make it. We’ve seen God meet us every single day. He is going to pick up our feet. We’ll be hinds feet on high places. We will proclaim freedom from the top of this mountain! It feels like our feet are being picked up as we are climbing. Each step is a step of faith.” – Nancy Byrne, 11:06 am EST, 7:06 pm on Mount Kilimanjaro
Operation Mobilisation (who sponsored the climb) is a Christian Organization designed to “redeem lives, rebuild communities and restore hope in over 110 countries” (OM) while sharing the knowlege of Jesus Christ.
Stay updated with the climb and subscribe to their updates for prayer requests and inspiration. Today’s climb will be Day 5 of their mission.
