{"id":56894,"date":"2023-03-28T11:21:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T00:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=56894"},"modified":"2023-05-10T03:45:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T17:45:47","slug":"how-one-young-woman-is-smashing-africas-glass-rooftop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/how-one-young-woman-is-smashing-africas-glass-rooftop\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe mountain is hard, and I\u2019m not giving up.\u201d How one young woman is smashing Africa\u2019s glass rooftop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Asifiwe Makere was 22 years old when she first climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in 2019 as an Intrepid porter. Now she\u2019s a lead guide \u2013 one of the few in Tanzania \u2013 helping local women become financially independent and pursue their tourism dreams. There\u2019s a big climb ahead. Literally.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, only 18% of people working on the heather-covered slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania<\/a> were women. Ten years ago that number was zero. One of these women is the trailblazing Chagga tour leader, Asifiwe Makere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first said to my family, \u2018I want to start climbing\u2019, they were like, \u2018Are you sure?\u2019\u201d Asifiwe recalls. \u201cWe don\u2019t see many females around here who try to climb Kilimanjaro. Maybe because, in our village, you can go outside and actually see the mountain. But I told my family, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m sure. I\u2019m sure I can do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asifiwe grew up in Mosha, in the shadow of Africa\u2019s tallest peak. In patrilineal tribes, like the Chagga, most women work in farming and agriculture \u2013 two professions that have become much more difficult, due to melting snow caps and the effects of climate change. Opportunities are scarce, which is why some Tanzanian women, like Asifiwe, are turning to traditionally male-dominated industries such as tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, it\u2019s a long way from village life to the \u2018rooftop of Africa\u2019, 5895 metres above sea level. Asifiwe began her journey with a degree in wildlife management and guiding, then moved to the comparative bustle of Arusha (population: 414,000) with her younger sister. In 2019, she heard that Intrepid was looking for female porters and decided to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019d gone out in person to recruit more women in hotel hotspots, but were having difficulty as we needed more real-life examples of success,\u201d says Bosco Omondi, Intrepid\u2019s local Operations Coordinator. \u201cThen we heard of Asifiwe and her amazing drive; we just had to recruit her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first started climbing, I was a porter, and it was not easy,\u201d Asifiwe admits. \u201cI had to carry 20 kilograms, and I\u2019d never done that before. But I was like, \u2018You know what? This mountain is hard, and I\u2019m not going to give up. I want to show the mountain I can do it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asifiwe eventually made it to the top on that first climb, and joined Intrepid\u2019s ranks as a full-time porter. Her legs ached for days after each ascent, and she had friends from other organisations lose fingers to frostbite (a real risk at that altitude, if you lack the proper gear and training). With the assistance of The Intrepid Foundation<\/a>, and organisations like Kilimanjaro Porters<\/a> Assistance Project, Asifiwe decided to soldier on. Her goal was to become the best lead guide in Tanzania, and after that, \u201cthe best lead guide in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2020, COVID happened, and Tanzanian tourism more-or-less shut down overnight. Unemployment was a big problem for local communities. Some porters turned to gardening to feed their families<\/a>, and for a while Asifiwe struggled along, selling shoes from a streetside stall in Arusha. Thankfully, travellers soon returned to Kilimanjaro, and in 2022 Asifiwe was offered a role as lead guide \u2013 a huge achievement in the gender-skewed world of Tanzanian trekking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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