Kathy, an African American who summited Mt Meru, Kilimanjaro

Kathy Richardson, an African American lawyer from Austin, Texas, lived and worked in Senegal, West Africa, before law school, and she long dreamed of visiting East Africa.

It began more than a decade ago when one of her friends read a book about ‘The Seven Summits,’ which featured the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mt Kilimanjaro, and Kathy was convinced that climbing that mountain should be on her bucket list.

The first two times she climbed, she had a great experience and fun; nevertheless, she didn’t summit.

In early 2024, she successfully summitted Mt Kilimanjaro. Kathy quickly had another mountain in mind.

It was Mt Meru, a less celebrated hiking expedition.

Though it is not as high as Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru proved to be a more challenging summit due to its steep hills.

“Summit night was harder and took longer; it’s more of a technical climb,” she said.

The base of Mt Meru is a walking safari; wild animals encountered while trekking the mountain are common; armed rangers always escort climbers, and they are urged to exercise caution.

Kathy said she saw giraffes, zebras, and a spectacular waterfall.

She beamed, “Mt Meru is absolutely stunning—it’s incredibly beautiful,” she continued.

How she was able to summit both mountains in the same year, in 2024, is quite an astonishing task, considering the challenges one has to push through to get to the top.

Kathy smiles. “Sadai Ngai,” she utters, translating to ‘God is good’ in Maasai.

Indeed, she says she has felt a sense of safety and belonging when she hikes in the motherland.

She would chat with local hikers, and they would tell her ‘tuko pamoja’ the Swahili for ‘we are together,’ and that melted her heart; she knew she was amidst people who cared about her; it was more than just a climb; for her, it was the serenity of the mountain.

She learned that Mt Kilimanjaro’s Uhuru peak was about independence, not only for Tanzania but also representing Black liberation.

Reaching the top of Kilimanjaro was one of the best days of her life but also the most challenging day of her life.

“It was one of the hardest things I have ever, ever done in my life,” she said.

She had to dig deep within herself to find the strength and determination to reach the top.

Kathy always tells people it took her ten years and eight days to climb Kilimanjaro because she tried it ten years ago and then again five years ago and didn’t get to the very top of the highest peak in Africa.

Summiting is a surmountable task, she admits, but she found joy in hiking and sleeping under the stars, which she advises that anyone can do.

“You can just hike without summiting; it’s more about the experience,” she insisted.

“Where there are even waterfall hikes, I did small hikes and found a beautiful misty waterfall outside of Arusha town,” she added.

Kathy attests to the benefit of hiking, mentally, physically, and spiritually, in the calm, peaceful environment, where she finds herself getting closer to her God in a tranquil atmosphere.

She said, “When you climb the mountains, you don’t return as the same person you felt.”

Kathy visiting Tanzania is more than for a ‘tourist’ experience or short-lived holiday; she stayed for a month in Tanzania and even lived within the communities she visited, sometimes away from the fancy hotels that accommodated tourists.

“I lived in the village and took Swahili lessons.

I did a little bit of everything,” she noted. The Kiswahili she had started learning came in handy while communicating with the locals; even her Kiswahili accent improved.

She remembers going to local market centres, shopping, and getting her nails done; she even went to a church in the community.

One thing she learned about Tanzanians is their warmth and respect. “Everywhere I went, they would greet me with mambo or shikamoo; I was told that is a greeting of respect,” she said.

The respect people have for each other that they extended to her was humbling for Kathy.

“People treated me like I was one of their own.”

She immersed herself more in learning about the people and the culture; she also fell in love with the tunes of bongo flava.

She laughed, “I know Komasava; that’s the biggest hit song I heard when I was there.”

Her friends introduced her palates to ugali; the still porridge is an everyday culinary addition in most households in Tanzania.

Back home in the United States, Kathy’s friends who had never been to Africa worry about her safety, but she feels safe in Tanzania.

“Tanzania is peaceful, a country where most people believe in God and treasure the community,” she mentioned.