Driven by need, they break the mould

DPA

The heroes of Africa’s highest mountain like to call themselves Wagumu – “soldiers” in Swahili. On Mount Kilimanjaro, they perform the same role as the sherpas in the Himalayas: tireless burden bearers hauling baggage and equipment to the base camps for visiting mountaineers – through rainforest, scree and ice fields.
For decades, it was a world dominated by men, but now women like Veronica Fabiani Temu are breaking into the male bastion.
“I was on my own after the birth of my twins and needed money urgently,” says the 34-year-old from the Tanzanian city of Arusha. Five years ago she was still something of trailblazer. “Many people were amazed by my job, including my family,” she recalls. “I was exotic.”
Today, the number of female porters on Kilimanjaro is estimated at several dozen. “Most of them are to be found on the Marangu route, which is not quite so difficult,” says mountain guide Peter Jackson, who is personally acquainted with several of the female porters.
“In the beginning they were made fun of a bit, but they soon earned respect through their performance,” explains his colleague Joshua Mwakalinga. The 59-year-old remembers the days, around the turn of the millennium, when the first women porters appeared on the mountain. Many were driven by existential need, because jobs are few and far between in the scenic but economically-underdeveloped region. The tourism industry based around safaris and mountaineering is the only one which creates a significant number of jobs in the area. But the female porters were viewed with scepticism by their male colleagues.
“They were basically treated with scorn by the male porters. They stood right at the bottom in the hierarchy, and were regarded as easy girls and failed women, because they didn’t have a man to take care of them,” remembers business woman Tina Voss from Hanover, who fulfilled her dream of climbing Kilimanjaro in 2010.
The cramped tents at the camps also used to cause difficulties for the female porters. This problem has since been solved, as many of the female porters now go out in groups of 2 and share a tent. This time, Veronica Temu has 24-year-old Yohana Tumaini by her side. It is her fifth ascent since finishing high school in Arusha.
“My brother is a mountain guide, so it was a logical step,” she says. She would like to study, but doesn’t have enough money yet – wages for the arduous job on the mountain are low. “Smaller companies pay 5 to 7 dollars per day, larger ones about 12 to 15,” says the 24-year-old Tanzanian.
For this meagre pay, the porters carry tents, gas cookers, backpacks, folding chairs, and complete camping toilets up the mountain and down again.
Both women belong to the advance party, so they have to be fast and
untiring. Everything has to be already set up by the time the tourists arrive at the camp.