Japanese Girl Recalls Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Kofu, Yamanashi Pref., Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--Rei Banno, a sixth grader in the city of Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, has recalled climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in September at the age of 11. "I saw a view I had never seen before, and it made me like mountains even more," Rei, now 12, said in an interview with Jiji Press. She started climbing Kilimanjaro on Sept. 3 local time, accompanied by her mother, Naomi, 49, and guides. Late at night on Sept. 6, they set off for the 5,895-meter summit, relying on the light from their headlamps. Rei thought she was getting closer to her dream with each step. When they reached the summit on the morning of Sept. 7, Rei said, "I saw the huge sea of clouds that I had never seen before, and a feeling of happiness gradually spread within me." The glaciers on the summit are said to be shrinking due to global warming and other factors. "They are large and three-dimensional, but there were fewer than I expected, so I felt sad," Rei said. "Kilimanjaro means a shining white mountain, but the blackness of its surface left a strong impression on me." Rei began climbing in earnest at the age of 4, and conquered Yamanashi's "100 major mountains" at the age of 6, when she was a nursery school student. Since then, she had longed to climb Kilimanjaro, and decided to take on the challenge as the culmination of her elementary school life. Although the mother and daughter, who live alone together, could not afford it, the challenge was made possible through crowdfunding and support from local businesses. Naomi, who lost her mother when she was 11 years old, worked hard to make her daughter's dream come true. "I wanted my daughter to know through this challenge the importance of working hard for your goals and thinking for yourself," she said. At the top of the mountain, Rei and others held up a banner with the names of the companies that supported her challenge. "Everyone's words were very supportive. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart," Rei said. Rei has long been interested in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program, and she stayed in a local resident's home at the base of the mountain. "In the future, I want to work for the benefit of the environment and people," she said. END