When missionary Fr George Grima passed away last year, he left his largest project unfinished, so a group of 19 Maltese took up the challenge to complete the centre for children with disabilities in Bonga, Ethiopia.

Fr George Grima founded the Jesus in Thy Neighbour (Ġesu fil-Proxxmu) missionary movement. Photo provided by Fr George Grima

The team will scale Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. Its members hope this double effort from their end – climbing the world’s tallest free-standing mountain and spending Christmas time away from their families ­– will encourage others to help fund the Ethiopia centre.

The building of the €1.2 million centre, which will equip children with skills that will help them lead an independent life, was nearly completed before Fr Grima passed away aged 66.

It includes, among others, a physiotherapy hub, a school, a day care centre and dormitories for 200 disabled children who would otherwise live on the streets. Over the past year, the Kilimanjaro team collected €90,000 to make the centre functional but the whole project is €100,000 short of completion.

Fr Grima, who founded the Jesus in Thy Neighbour missionary movement, had told the Times of Malta it welcomed everyone, especially the unwanted, and gave importance to those who were made to feel unimportant.

He had first met Keith Marshall, founder of the Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta, about 18 years ago. When Mr Marshall joined the priest on a trip to Ethiopia the following year, he pledged to raise funds for a €233,000 school, which Jesus in Thy Neighbour could not finance.

Fr Grima is the person who gave meaning to my life

The promise saw the birth of Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta and enough funds for the project were collected through the first three challenges. However, the Kilimanjaro team held a further 11 expeditions so far, with the youngest and eldest participants being aged 13 and 57 respectively.

“When I went to Ethiopia and I saw the appalling and shocking conditions that people had to endure, I knew it couldn’t be a one-off,” Mr Marshall said.

The 12th expedition team, the largest group to take up the challenge, will leave for Tanzania on December 24 and will take about a week to climb up and down the mountain. The feat will be dedicated to Fr Grima’s memory.

“I know it is a big thing to say but Fr Grima is the person who gave meaning to my life. Everything else is sand in the hand, it comes and goes,” Mr Marshall said.

“When I reflect on my life, I believe it has been one rollercoaster ride of adventures and fun. However, there was no meaningfulness to it. I was leading a very selfish life and I wasn’t going to leave any legacy until Fr Grima turned up in my life,” he told this newspaper at the Addolorata Cemetery, in Paola.

On Sundays, the Kilimanjaro team is usually trekking the islands’ coast, gearing up for the challenge in December. However, yesterday it joined several mourners who visit the cemetery in November, which is dedicated to all souls.

“Kilimanjaro has always been related to funding projects for children. We thought it would be symbolic and meaningful to lay white flowers and a small poem on children’s graves. We don’t know these children. We weren’t there during their passing and we can only provide empathy to the bereaved relatives,” Mr Marshall said.

Jesus in Thy Neighbour cares for about 23,000 children and its projects are ongoing.

Among others, it funds 230 schools in Ethiopia and Kenya, where children are granted access to education, food and health facilities.

Over the past years, more than €800,000 were collected through Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta for 10 projects in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The Kilimanjaro team organises several fund-raising events throughout the year. Readers can keep updated by looking up the Facebook page Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta.

Those who would like to donate can do so by calling 5150 2084 (for a donation of €5), 5160 2028 (€10) and 5180 2095 (€25). They can also text 5061 8062 (for a donation of €4.66), 5061 8861 (€6.99) or 5061 9261 (€11.65).

People can also deposit directly in the Bank of Valletta account called Kilimanjaro Challenge 12, whose IBAN number is MT24VALL22013000000040025324242.

The Kilimanjaro team yesterday laid white flowers, donated by Flowerland, and a small poem on children’s graves at the Addolorata Cemetery. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli