ABU DHABI: Nine students from the Abu Dhabi Women?s College, an HCT college, will head to Tanzania next Saturday on the first trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's fourth highest mountain.
During the trip which is sponsored Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development and the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, the female students will donate AED40000 to a girls' school in Tanzania. The trip marks of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and is part of efforts to promote healthy lifestyle and physical fitness among Emirati girls. The students started preparations and intensive training for the trip since September 2012 at Hafeet Mountain, Zayed Sport City stadiums and Hodariyat Bridge, according to Dr. Jace Hargis, Director of the Abu Dhabi Women's College. Nora Al Kaabi, board member of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, said the initiative reflects the girls' strong will and high ambitions. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits, is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising 15,100 feet (4,600 meters) from base to summit. Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters); Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters); and Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Uhuru in Peak is the highest summit on Kibo?s crater rim. The Kilimanjaro National Park shows that only 41% of trekkers actually reach the Uhuru summit with the majority turning around at Gilman?s Point, 300 metres (980 feet) short of Uhuru. The name Uhuru translates as "freedom" in Swahili language.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
