Kilimanjaro challenge: Jasper woman set to support Africa New Life
In a few days, Charlotte Olson will begin a nine-day climb of Kilimanjaro.
The Jasper native will join 10 women from across the United States who are tackling the Tanzanian mountain — at 19,341 feet, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world — to raise money to provide 200,000 meals to children in Rwanda. The climb is sanctioned through Africa New Life, a Christian-based ministry supporting educational opportunities in Rwanda while providing basic needs for participants in its programs.
This isn’t the first time Charlotte has been to Africa. She began sponsoring a child in Africa New Life’s program in 2017. In 2018, she was able to travel over to the country to meet Joy, her sponsored student, while on a mission trip through Redemption Christian Church.
“It’s been a goal of mine to climb Kilimanjaro for awhile,” she said.
The idea to climb Kilimanjaro solidified for Charlotte after she read the book “My Year with Eleanor” by Noelle Hancock. In her book, Hancock decides to live according to Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice to do one thing that scares her each day for a year. In the end, Hancock climbs Kilimanjaro.
Following the author’s experience and Roosevelt’s advice, Charlotte dedicated a year to do things that scared her. It was during this year that Charlotte headed over to Rwanda on a mission trip with Africa New Life.
“I was actually at the guest house in Rwanda with Africa New Life when I heard about the climb,” she said.
A group of women had completed the climb together for the first time in 2017 and a new group was forming to take it on in 2020 to support Africa New Life’s Food Program. Charlotte jumped at the opportunity.
She signed up almost exactly a year ago and began researching equipment and training for the climb to get prepared. While Indiana doesn’t have the altitude or long steep inclines of Kilimanjaro, Charlotte has been hiking The Parklands, Ferdinand State Forest and the areas around her home while hauling an 18-pound backpack to prepare. On days she can’t get outside — although she was out in last Friday’s deluge — she heads to Health Pointe Fitness where the 26-year-old operates her business, Calla-Lilly Training. There she finds creative ways to mimic the stresses she might encounter in Tanzania.
“I was in full gear the other day at Health Pointe on one of the treadmills set to its steepest incline,” she laughed adding that she wondered what the other patrons thought about her outfit and gear.
She’s also heard that core strength is important for long hikes carrying heavyweight so she regularly kicks out 300 situps and performs other exercises to ensure she won’t be injured during the nine-day climb to the top.
Charlotte’s goal is to raise money for the Africa New Life program but she’s also taking on the challenge to seek healing and prove to herself that she can take on a bigger-than-life trek.
“There’s a lot of wounds that I’ve kind of put on the back burner internally, and I’m really looking forward to having a therapeutic way to kind of work through them and a designated time to get through them,” she explained. “I’m also looking forward to having a tribe of Christ-minded women around me. I’ve been kind of wanting more of that in my life and now it’s been presented in a way that’s awesome”
She added that completing the climb is important because sometimes she has a tendency to talk herself out of being able to accomplish something. “I can believe in my own excuses but this has really allowed me to push myself to raise the bar and then, get to a goal, and raise it again and keep going,” Charlotte said.
With these nagging thoughts of inadequacy attacking her resolve, Charlotte has simply kept putting on foot in front of the other and now, with the climb looming in front of her, she is at peace with the challenge.
You can follow along with her climb through Africa New Life’s Facebook page and the fundraising page here.
Africa New Life’s Food Program helps to provide school lunches to children in Rwanda who otherwise would get little or no food to eat. An average meal in Rwanda costs $0.83, which means $25 provides food for a child for a month (30 meals).
Africa New Life feeds children and families as an extension of the gospel with the goal of providing students the stability and consistent nutrition necessary to complete their education.
The Kilimanjaro 2020 team has a goal of raising $170,000. To accomplish this, each climber has a goal of raising $15,000. If you would like to support Charlotte’s efforts, you can learn more at this special Facebook fundraiser page.
https://www.facebook.com/donate/928498334203926/984939485226477
