The 11th Kilimanjaro Challenge which will see 20 people going up the mountain at the end of this year in a bid to raise money to help an Ethiopian community was launched today.

Over the past 10 years, more than €700,000 were collected through the challenge for nine projects in Kenya and Ethiopia, all of were orchestrated by the ‘Missionary Movement Jesus in Thy Neighbour’, founded by Fr George Grima.

Challenge founder Keith Marshall said the projects completed have helped the communities that benefitted from them to progress.

This year’s project is a kindergarten in Wush Wush, a small village home to about 800 families, and a resident pride of lions. These families lived in extreme poverty, with high levels of malnutrition and health diseases.

The group was also hoping to collect funds to build a playground (an additional €10,000 over and above their 65k mark) close to the school to encourage a sense of community and push the village to continue to grow. The kindergarten will be named after Philip Bonett – Mr Marshall’s events partner, who passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Expedition Leader Reuben Balzan said that the team had been meeting up since January. It will head to Africa on December 27, spending eight days on the mountain, after which it will continue on to Ethiopia to inaugurate the project.