Primary School for the Blind in Moshi, Tanzania
The school has a total enrollment of over 600, it houses and teaches 64 blind children under age 16. My Wife had purchased slates and styluses for printing Braille as well as a soccer ball with a bell inside it so blind children could play with it. We delivered them to the school and met with the Principal for several hours. We were given a complete tour of the campus, which has grown significantly since my visit in 2005.
The school receives little financial assistance from the Tanzanian government and gets most of its $50,000 annual budget through donations. They have no funding to build the wall.
When I visited the school in 2005, I brought with me 50 long white canes for the children and was gratified to see many of them still in use. However, their need for funding to build a wall to protect the blind children is urgent. I have included an article from the United Nations about the trade in albino body parts. Anybody wishing to donate towards the building of the wall can do so through our web site by simply designating that the donation is for the wall at the blind school in Tanzania.
Marangu Route Day 1
Charley Mace and I arrived at the Marangu Gate at Mt. Kilimanjaro, registered at the office and started up the mountain. We hiked through rain forest with the sound of monkeys and exotic birds around us. Leopards are sometimes seen along this path, as well as other animals, but this day there were too many people hiking. The path led steadily uphill for 9 miles to our first camp, Mandara Hut. The camp is located about 9,000 feet above sea level and the temperature has slowly slipped from a balmy 90 degrees to the upper 60's.
Shortly after beginning our trek, the porters passed us carrying our duffle bags and the camp gear and food. They are amazing. While we're walking up the mountain, they jog past us carrying all that heavy gear.
After 6 and a half hours of hiking we arrived at Mandara Hut. At camp the porters prepared our meal and we relaxed and talked with other climbers. The huts holds about 60 people and has spring water piped down from the mountain. There is a separate mess hut and another for toilets.
We got in just before dark and after a hearty meal of beef stew, soup, bread and hot coffee, I stumbled off to bed. Aching in every muscle, sick to my stomach and with the ringing in my ears caused by Meniere's Disease, I began going over my prospects for successfully completing the ascent.
Although I had made it 9 miles and could possibly make the 10 mile hike to Horombo Hut tomorrow, I knew that was the best I was going to make. Also, the farther up the mountain I went, the farther I would have to hike back down. Right then I had to look forward to a 9 mile hike back down. If I went on to Horombo, I would have 19 miles to retrace, and that without an overnight stop. I knew then I had to stop.
In the morning, my decision to stop was reinforced by the realization that my legs had not recovered at all overnight. They were totally worn out and the dizziness was worsening. I informed Charley and the guides of my decision and, after lunch we headed back down the trail.
My African Adventure
My African adventure began like a Rodney Dangerfield (I don't get no respect) skit. On the morning we were to fly out, I awoke to painful stomach cramps, followed by 2 hours of bathroom duty. Then we borded the airport shuttle to Detroit Metro Airport. We told the driver we needed to go to the International Terminal, but were advised that the shuttle was only allowed access to one drop off space and it wasn't International. The driver did inform us where we needed to go and we packed up all our baggage and moved that direction.
Once in the termidal, we were given conflicting information about where to go and ended up circling the terminal twice before finding out we needed to go up to the 6th floor to clear customs.
We hopped in the first open elevator and zipped up to the 6th floor. There we were informed we needed to obtain our electronic tickets. We begged, pleaded with and threatened the ticket kiosk, but could not get it to spit out our jickets. A guard then pointed us to a long line of other people who had also been refused by the kiosk. After waiting our turn, we were given tickets and checked our baggage. We boarded our plane and got ready for our 8 hour flight to Amsterdam.
Shortly after takeoff, we were served supper. I don't know whose idea it was to serve chicken in a very watery barbecue sauce, but I'm sure he's thoroughly enjoying watching people seated in a crowded airplane trying to eat barbecued chicken with plastic forks on those tiny fold down table tops.
After giving up on the chicken, I decided to check out the movies and music on board, so I popped the remote control out of the arm of my chair only to find it had more buttons than the Nasa Control Center in Houston, none of which could I get to work.
Giving up on the entertainment, I decided to turn my attention to resetting my clock to the appropriate time. I was immediately faced with the issue of what is the appropriate time. My ticket said we would arrive in Amsterdam at 7:30 a.m. Amsterdam time. However, we were flying on to Tanzania, Africa, so why should I care about the time in Amsterdam? Oh, sure I did need to know when to board the flight from Amsterdam at 12:00, but was that reason enough to reset my clock? And, by the way, does anybody remember which way you turn your clock when you're flying East? Do you move forward 6 hours or back 6 hours? Since we're coming back in less than 2 weeks does it really make any sense to change our clocks anyway?
About then, I noticed I was becoming chilled. I turned my air control off, but continued getting colder and colder. I got a blanket and still the cold got worse. I began shivering until I was shaking all over. My Wife saw me shivering and got another blanket, but still I shook uncontrolably. As we descended into Amsterdam, the shivering subsided to be replaced by nausea and a headache. The flight crew arranged for a wheelchair and we landed.
In Amsterdam, my Wife wheeled me to near the next boarding gate, but even nearer the bathroom, which became my closest friend for the next 2 and a half hours. My Wife wheeled me aboard the 777 bound for Kilimanjaro International Airport and gradually the nausea lessened and I slept most of the 8 hour flight to Kilimanjaro. Without further incident, we landed at Kilimanjaro and headed for customs. There was some delay in my passport and visa being accepted and, upon inquiry as to the problem, were told it looked like I had gotten a haircut since having the picture taken for the passport. At last we arrived at our hotel and I spent the next 2 days in bed with the headache still persisting. We postponed our climb for a day to give me time to recover, but I never really recovered and was unable to complete the climb. I never found the cause of my illness. One person speculated that I may well have passed a kidney stone over the North Atlantic, but I didn't know. The symptoms did seem consistent, so to be on the safe side, I began taking the antibiotic Cipro. The Cipro may or may not have helped with whatever ailed me, but the certainty is that it sent me back to the bathroom where I have spent most of this adventure.
Training for Kilimanjaro
August 23, 2010
Several people have asked me how I am training for my attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. There are probably as many training methods employed by people preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as there are people making the attempt. I don't claim my method is better or even as good as any other one, but here is how I trained. We'll find out how good it is after my climb.
I began in late October, 2009 by doing pushups, situps, stomach crunches and deep knee bends each morning and before bed. I did these 5 days a week and rested 2 days. I started walking 1 to 2 miles twice a day 5 days a week. Each week I increased the distance by a mile until I was hiking 6 to 8 miles at an outing.
Unfortunately, my routine was interrupted in January with gall stones. In February my gall bladder was removed and I wasn't able to resume training until March. At that time, I had to start over because much of the training was lost to inactivity for 2 month.
Throughout March, April and June I regained what I had lost in January and February. It was becoming difficult to train so hard in the Florida heat and humidity, but I was able to get back to being able to hike 6 to 8 miles per day.
In July we traveled to our home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the temperature was 10 to 15 degrees cooler and there was less humidity. Also, our home in Michigan is about 900 feet above sea level; not real high, but much higher than Venice, Florida, which is at sea level. This somewhat minor sounding difference may well make a big difference in becoming acclimated to high altitude on Kilimanjaro.
In Michigan, I resumed my hiking schedule with 2 changes. Our home is located on a bluff about 50 feet above a lake. We have a stairway down to the lake with 54 steps. Each day, I ran up and down the stairs several times. Also, I loaded my backpack with the gear I will be carrying on Kilimanjaro and wore it on my daily hikes. So far, all of this sounds like the way most people would prepare, but remember I'm blind.
You may wonder how a blind person could hike severl miles unassisted. Actually I was assisted. I used my BrailleNote Apex, a device similar to a laptop computer, but with a braille display and the ability to speak aloud whatever is being displayed. It has a talking GPS with maps of the entire United States, including millions of points of interest such as stores, restaurants, gas stations, banks, parks, etc. With my BrailleNote I was able to create walking routes of any distance I desired and then walk the route with the GPS pointing out each turn, intersection and point of interest along the way.
The training didn't always go smoothly. About 2 weeks ago, I switched hiking boots, forgetting that I had taken the intersole insert and used them in another pair of boots. That day I hiked 10 miles and got major blisters on both feet. That cost me 2 days of training, a trip to the doctor and a great deal of pain. Little things can mean a lot.
Beginning the first of August, I again changed my routine. Wearing my backpack, I traded my long white cane for a pair of trekking poles, which is what I will be using on the Kilimanjaro climb, and had my brother attach a small bell to our golf cart and had him lead me down the 4 wheeler trails around the area. I had him go as fast as I could fast walk over miles of sand, rock, tree roots and pot holes. This quite accurately mimicks the terrain at the beginning of the route up Mt. Kilimanjaro, even to the swarms of mosquitoes chasing us down the trails.
My intense training will conclude Sunday, August 15, a week before we leave for Africa. This will give me time to rest and restore myself before the climb. It will also avoid any risk of blisters or injuries such as twisted ankles which would be disastrous at this point. Well, we'll soon find out if this was a successful training program. My next report will be from Tanzania, Africa.
A word from Craig Kiser, CEO of the Blind Services Foundation of Florida
On August 22 my BrailleNote Apex and I will depart for Tanzania, Africa where I will climb to the summit of the tallest freestanding mountain in the World. I will have my Apex to record my thoughts and impressions and transmit them back to America and the Sendero GPS in my Apex will mark my route up the mountain.
Technology has become the single greatest boon to the blind in my lifetime. The advent of talking computers began a process that has opened more doors to the blind than any development since the creation of Braille. And the invention of Braille / talking notetakers, such as the BrailleNote, has allowed us to carry this technology everywhere we go with ease and assurance.
Since receiving my first BrailleNote in 2001, which was followed by my BrailleNote PK, then my BrailleNote mPower, to my current BrailleNote Apex, I have relied on it to help me carry out whatever activity I'm doing. I can't imagine being without it.
That benefit of technology is a large part of the reason I took the position of CEO of the Blind Services Foundation in 2008. I know what devices like the BrailleNote have meant to me and I've seen the difference it can make in the life of a blind person. I want to help other blind people obtain equipment that can change their lives.
I am routinely asked, "Why climb a mountain?" I'm not a mountain climber. Truth be known, I'm not that much of an athlete either. That's part of the reason for the climb. Most people who attempt climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro are not mountain climbers. They are tourists and travelers who decide to do it on the spur of the moment because it seems like the thing to do when they view the grandeur of Kilimanjaro for the first time. Why shouldn't the blind experience that same fascination?
There are 3 reasons for me to again challenge Kilimanjaro. First, I want to raise as much money as possible for the Foundation, so it can help as many blind people as possible; second, I want to demonstrate to both the blind and sighted that we are normal, average human beings, subject to the same desires and whims that motivate sighted people and there's no reason why we shouldn't act on those desires and whims; and finally, I don't tolerate failure well and I'll be darned if that mountain is going to beat me.
