Climbing Kilimanjaro

On the 28/08/07 a group of energetic Rotarians, one Lion and Friends will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in Africa.


The climbers will be raising money to assist AIDS orphans in Africa and to continue the good work being done by Rotary for the School of St. Jude. The organisers welcome anyone who is interested in climbing or who would like to sponsor the climb. Your assistance will help the three beneficiaries:

* The School of St Jude, Tanzania
* Operation Medical Hope, Hout Bay, Cape Town
* RFFA Rotarians For Fighting AIDS, Orphan Rescue South Africa & Kenya

The climb has an excellent web site and blog where you can keep up to date or leave a comment.

The Rotary Clubs of Coolamon and Forbes Ipomoea from the Riverina of New South Wales, Australia have combined to organise this event and you may contact the two following leaders of the event for further information.

Project Contacts

John Glassford, Rotary Coolamon
email: john (at) glassford.com.au
61 2 6927 6027

Sharon Daishe, Rotary Forbes Ipomoea
email: sharon.daishe (at) rlpb.org.au
61 2 6851 5085



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3 peaks 3 weeks challenge

Well, the ‘3 peaks 3 weeks Challenge’ has reached all its goals. The ten women have succeeded in climbing the three East African mountains in three weeks, and have raised $250,000 for the three projects they are supporting – the School of St Jude, Laikipia Wildlife Forum and Students for International Change. The School of St Jude will use the funds to build classrooms at the Usa River campus, Laikipia will use the money to support their community conservation work and International Change will buy three new mobile HIV testing vehicles.

Mission Accomplished! 10 women who did it!

How did these ten women raise so much money?

In their last dispatch from the field, the team gives a wrap-up of this BIG achievement.

One of the first successful events was a black tie dinner held in Wagga Wagga, Australia. Though it is a small town which rarely sees such a formal event, the community pulled together to support us and in that single night, raised over $15,000! Similar events to that were held in Tucson, Arizona and in London, UK. Pub crawls proved to be very effective, especially for our age group, and we appreciated all of the folks who came out for a good night at the bar in support of our work. Other events included movie screenings, overland treks, barbeques, and marathons. Some events were more successful than others, and we began to learn what worked and what did not. We tried selling chocolate, t-shirts, and Christmas cards. Most of these smaller initiatives did little to raise money, but were great for raising awareness and spreading the word about what we were doing. We met with companies across the globe in hopes they would put some of their “good will” money towards helping Africa.

A breakthrough came when Serac Adventure Films said they would film the trek. You can look out for the release of the film about the climb and the three projects that will benefit from the funds raised.

We are departing and going our separate ways, but have no doubt that the friendships we have made will last forever. Walking down the mountain together on the final day gave us one last time to take in what it meant to be a part of such a great group of women. Each one of us now has 9 new friends, 9 new sisters, and 9 new bridesmaids. The relationships we have made over the past 3 weeks, and even more, over the past 2 years are incredible. We have successfully completed the 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Challenge and are leaving Africa with a feeling that we truly made a difference and that many lives will be bettered by the work we supported. We sincerely hope that we have inspired you to challenge yourself.

These amazing women plan to make this climb an annual event and keep the momentum alive. You can check out their website to keep in touch or join up!

Where do we look for inspiration in our lives? We don’t have to look too far when we see energetic and committed people taking on challenges and then figuring out all the details they need to learn in order to succeed.

You can join inspiring women like Gemma Sisia, step into your own set of challenges that will develop your talents to the benefit of others. What else is a life for?

Three Peaks Challenge

While most of the us are preparing for the Christmas festive period of parties and holidays, 10 women from the USA and Australia will be preparing to become the first climbing party to summit three of Africa's highest mountains (Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya and Mt Meru) in less than 3 weeks.


The challenge is raising money and awareness for the three peak issues affecting Africa today; environment, education and HIV/AIDS.

Project Director Chloe Chick founded the 3 Peaks challenge after time spent at The School of St Jude in 2004.

3 Peaks aims to support and encourage the work of grassroots organisations in Africa who are having a positive and immediate impact on the local community. St Jude's is just that and has provided huge amounts of motivation to get this event established - this is our small way of saying, we truly believe in and support what St Jude's is achieving.

The women are dedicating every spare moment to fundraising, training and getting themselves prepared for the challenge ahead. To date the project has raised over $220,000, but organisers are hoping to crack half a million dollars! The money raised for St Judes will go directly to the construction of the secondary school on the new school block that many have helped to buy.

St Jude's is looking forward to hosting the team and supporters in January and celebrating with them on their return to base camp on Australia Day 2007.