In January 1997 seventeen leaders and venturers from Scouting Ireland CSI went on a memorable trip to Kenya. They were among a 35 strong party from all over Ireland which included members of Scouting Ireland CSI, The Boys Brigade (N. Ireland) and the Girls Brigade (N. Ireland).
The particpants and leaders from the Scouting Ireland CSI group were
The challenging expedition was marred by the death of 24 year old Dubliner, Donal Fitzgerald (Scout Leader 4/5/129th Dublin). Donal became ill during his attempt on the peak of Mt Kenya and despite a desperate attempt by the Doctor and some members of the expedition to get him out to help; Donal died before he could be brought to hospital.
On their arrival in Kenya the group spent these days in the capital Nairobi, and then travelled to Chogoria, where they stayed overnight before beginning an ascent of Mt Kenya. Each member of the expedition was hosted by a family in Nairobi and Chogoria during these acclimatisation days to see at close hand the African culture and way of life. In Nairobi the group was based in Dandora. Many of the houses had no electricity or running water and the food was cooked in an open fire for several families at once. In Chogoria several of the villages hadn't seen white people since the 1920's which made the 'muzungi' (Westerners) a great attraction to all the local villages.
The expedition was called the "Irish Youth Expedition to Kenya" and as well as climbing Mt Kenya the group brought a number of mountain bikes which will be invaluable for medical centres in a country where there is still a lot of poverty and where roads are often little more than dust tracks. The climbing of Mt Kenya was the highlight of the visit and the first stage of this was to reach the summit of the foothills, some 12,000 feet above sea level. Over a period of four days the party walked from Chogoria to Mintos Hut, where the group split up into climbers and walkers. The climbers went to the Austria Hut to prepare for the early ascent of the technical peaks of Nelian and Batian, while the walking group went to Shipton's Cave to prepare for an ascent on Pt Lenana. The climbers achieved Nelian(5,188m) at 17.00 hrs on Friday 24th January 1997. Shane Satell, Michael ODwyer and Neil Walshe from Scouting Ireland CSI were among this group. Due to bad weather they couldn't attempt the final ascent to Batian(5,199m) - it's that last eleven meters; it just keeps getting them!
One group of the walkers reached Pt Lenana(4,985) on Friday 24th of January at approximately 6.30 in the morning. They were able to shout and signal to the climbers on the face of Nelian. After climbing Pt Lenana they descended to the Austria hut. There they found Donal Fitzgerald. He said that he wasn't well enough to go and do the climb and was waiting for the climbing group to descend. After much persuasion he descended with the group to Shipton's Cave to be treated by the Doctor. The next morning the second group of walkers set out to climb Pt Lenana and on their return the group split again. Some descended to Moses camp and the others waited at Shipton's for the climbers and also to wait for Donal to recover. At about 14.00hrs Donal's condition worsened and six of the expedition with the expedition leader and the Doctor tried to get him to Moses where he could be taken to hospital. He died in MacKinders valley, a few kilometers from the camp.
The groups spent some days in Nanyuki after coming off the mountain to recover before cycling to Kiganjo where they spent the night. There, they received a tremendous welcome with crowds flocking to meet them. The next day they travelled to Nyeri to visit Baden-Powell's grave. There the group was greeted by a Guard of Honour from the Kenyan Scout Association. The Chief Commissioner, Kiernan Gildea, Laid a wreath on the grave on behalf of all members of Scouting in Ireland.
The Scouting Ireland CSI members along with some of the Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade members then travelled back to Ireland for the funeral of Donal while the remaining members including the Kenyans cycled to Nairobi, stopping off at various villages along the way. At one village they were challenged to a football match with the locals and the Irish triumphed; beating the Africans 2-0. After a few days rest in Nairobi the group went to the Masai Mara National park where they spent two days and nights on safari.
Next year some members of the Kenyan Boys Brigade will be making the return journey to Ireland and it will be the turn of the expedition pary to host them.
Depsite the tragic death of Donal, this expedition was the epitome of what Scouting is about. Getting out there and pushing the limits. Let there be many more of them. For another account of the trip check out the MPC Irish Youth Expedition to Kenya