In memory of Wayne, 25

The tragic death of Wayne Vella, 25, is serving as an inspirational force for three of his second cousins who are all set to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in a few days.

Almost two months have passed since Mr Vella from Mġarr died in a freak bulldozer accident, and the tragedy has left deep scars among relatives, friends and the whole village community.

Marie, 25, her brother Karl, 22, and their cousin Andrea Vella, 21, all of Mġarr, form part of the Kilimanjaro Challenge 6 team who are leaving for Tanzania on Sunday. They are following in the footsteps of Wayne who had successfully climbed the mountain as part of KC4 last November.

“He was, and still is, a big inspiration to us,” Marie Vella said, standing beside a small bar behind the Mġarr parish church where Wayne used to hang out.

“We would talk incessantly about the challenge. He was very interested in how our training proceeded and gave us many tips.”

The 11-member team started training rigorously in March, mainly by doing regular four- to five-hour walks on different terrain.

The actual climb up the Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in the African continent and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, takes six days, while the descent takes two.

Besides the strain of trekking for long hours, climbers have to put up with four different climatic conditions: rainforest, tropical, semi-arid desert and polar, where the temperature can dip to -24°C.

Marie Vella admitted that due to work, studies and other commitments she could not train as much as the rest of the group but she cherished Wayne’s words of encouragement.

“He used to say: ‘You could be very well trained but it’s all about will power. If you have the will to do it, you will do it’.”

Wayne, who was known for his cheerful character and positive attitude, has left a big void in the small community of Mġarr, as his cousins can attest.

“He was like a rock star for us here. Everybody knew him,” Andrea Vella said.

Wayne was very active in the village drama group and the cousins mentioned his performances as Rowan Atkinson and as one of the Italian comedy trio Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo as highlights of his stage career.

“He was always cracking a joke and was a good entertainer,” said Karl. The latter also recalled his other artistic ability, that of playing the drums.

The three relatives are dedicating their expedition to Wayne and are planning to leave a framed picture of him and his memorial bookmark on the mountain’s summit.

The aim of KC6 is to raise funds to rebuild a clinic in the village of Karro, Ethiopia. Expedition leader David Aquilina, 32, explained that this facility would attend to the day-to-day medical needs of around 10,000 people who live in the area, where the most common diseases were leprosy and elephantiasis.

The team, whose ages range between 21 and 50, has so far collected about half the €53,000 needed for the project through personal donations and various activities. One last fund-raising effort, a “farewell” dinner, will be held tomorrow.

Mr Aquilina said the economic situation made it a little more difficult to raise funds but he hoped the Maltese understood “the sacrifice we’re making”.

Donations can be made on Bank of Valletta account 40019279620 or HSBC account 061249330001.

www.kilichallenge.com