I want to share one of my favorite photos from my recent trip to Kilimanjaro with you.
Kilimanjaro porters, Dori Moreno
It’s probably not the most spectacularly scenic photograph of the lot, but it’s a photograph that depicts the people I consider to be the real heroes of Kilimanjaro. The porters.
These men are responsible for the not so glamorous job of carrying everything up and down the mountain. Just to give you an idea of just how much they carry, our group of 3 needed 7 porters for the trip. At an average of 20kg per porter, that’s 140kg that was lugged around for 7 days!! Our bags each weighed just above 20kg each and the rest was made up of tent, chairs, table, food and the porters own clothing and supplies.
Fortunately the water used for drinking and cooking is collected from the mountain streams and rivers. However, most of this water is provided by the melting glaciers, which will have disappeared in the next 50 years or so. When there is no water on the mountain, the porters will have to carry this too.
These men are always in good spirits and have a great sense of camaraderie. After all, 11 of them share 2 small tents for 7 days in a row, so its best to get on well. The cramped conditions of tent living can put huge strain on even the most solid marriage, so imagine the good humor these guys need in order to perform their jobs day in and day out.
There are hazards to the job too. Men die on the mountain. Some due to inadequate clothing, others due to illness (HIV included), and others because of accidents on the mountain. The long term effects of exposure at high altitude must also take a toll.
Our guide, Rajab, left his primary school teaching job to become a guide because there is more money in it. With an extended family of unemployed siblings to support, he has been guiding tours for the past 7 years and has plans of doing it for 5 more before he considers himself too old at 48 to continue with this line of work. He is more fortunate than the porters. He is employed by a tour company and gets paid a salary as well as getting tipped by his clients. The porters depend solely on the generosity of the tourists and live off the tips they get.
Lady Kilimanjaro is a true provider. Of adventure and challenge for some, and of work and income for others.
