Two Dubai Duty Free employees scale Mount Kilimanjaro
Over Dh400,444 raised for African children’s charities
Dubai: Away from work and in line of pure adventure, two of Dubai Duty Free (DDF) employees successfully scaled the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro this summer. The employees — Reuben Wanjiku and Binaya Regmi — were felicitated for this feat by DDF Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin and Ramesh Cidambi, the COO.
The climb was part of the operations ongoing support for the Dubai-based charity organisation, Gulf For Good (G4G), which raised Dh400,444 for charity on this trip in the first week of July.
The amount raised — which includes a Dubai Duty Free contribution, will be donated to two charities namely, the Larchfield Charity Organisation to help build and operate a purpose built children’s home, initially for 60 children, but phased to accommodate eventually up to 300 in Dar es Salaam and the Foundation of African Empowerment (FAE), to help build three classrooms to give an additional 200 students access to quality education at the Enjoro Maasai Village in Northern Tanzania.
The two DDF employees were part of a 43-strong contingent of like-minded adventurers who completed the 9-day trekking challenge packed with fun and adventure. This extreme test of fitness at high altitude to summit Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres remains the highest point in all Africa and makes Kilimanjaro a universal landmark and an adventurer’s dream.
The two employees underwent three months training to build fitness and stamina through a variety of weekly sessions.
Commenting on their adventure, McLoughlin said, “We are delighted to be a part of another successful event supporting Gulf for Good and its two sponsored charities. I couldn’t be prouder of our employees and their dedication to giving back. Year after year, we have staff stepping forward to actively participate in different charitable initiatives which raise much needed funds for worthy causes.”
The challenge also gave the two young mountaineers an opportunity to visit the Enjoro Primary School in Northern Tanzania and spend time interacting with the children and meeting staff, seeing first-hand how the funds raised will be used to benefit the students.