Last week we featured Mount Kilimanjaro as part of our Travel Fridays. We discovered that a young man by the name of Osse Greca Sinare had climbed the grand mountain. Osse, of OGS Studios in Tanzania, was kind enough to give us a moment of his time for an interview. OGS Studios is one of the best photography and graphic businesses in Tanzania, twice awarded the SFW (Swahili Fashion Week) Fashion Photographer of the Year Award.
Osse shared his personal journey up Mount Kilimanjaro as well as the reasons behind his decision to make the arduous climb.
Chicamod: Kindly tell us about yourself and what you do?
Osse Greca Sinare: Hi everyone, my name is Osse Greca Sinare, 24 years young. I am Fashion, Portrait & Commercial Photographer currently based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Besides Photography, I also do graphic designing and Videography. When I am not doing photo-shoots or creating Art, you can find me doing other things that I love such as travelling, dancing, painting, listening to music.
Chicamod: Why did you embark on this journey?
Osse Greca Sinare: Honestly in the beginning I agreed to doing this journey because my girlfriend wanted to do it and eventually once she got me to join in I thought that it was a good opportunity for me to bring awareness to a non profit organization that I am part of called Hassan Maajar Trust. The nonprofit organization is at the moment doing all it can to provide Desks for students around Tanzania who sit on the floor in classes.
CM: Tell us briefly how you travelled from Dar es salaam to Kilimanjaro?
OGS: I took a flight from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro so the trip was very short. I have already done my fair share of taking the bus to Moshi because it is where my parents were born and the 8 hours is no joke. Once I arrived, I stayed at the hotel the tour company kept for us. Then next we were off to the Machame Gate, which is the first stage of the climb.
CM: How did you prepare for the trip?
OGS: I actually took the risk of not preparing physically for the trip, I didn’t do any training, but if you consider dancing at clubs physical training then I did a lot of that, haha. In terms of clothing and essentials, I watched youtube videos for some info from other people who had climbed before and we also rented out some of the gear from the tour company because there was no point of buying stuff and never using it again.
CM: How many days did your trip take – to and from?
OGS: It took us 5 nights and 6 days to finish the whole climb and back.
CM: What was your experience like?
OGS: The experience was amazing; I got to see the stars like I have never seen before. There is also something about climbing the mountain, it make you appreciate it more compared to a person who hasn’t climbed it. Now when I look at the moment I can see the paths I walked and the landscapes I saw in my mind, it’s really awesome. I loved every bit of it, especially the living in a tent haha, since it was the first time I stayed in a tent for such a long time, really makes you miss your comfy bed.
CM: What was the best thing about the excursion?
OGS: The best part of the excursion was the scenery, the feeling of accomplishment and also climbing with my partner in crime, haha.
CM: What was the worst thing about the excursion?
OGS: Probably the summit night, which was the hardest thing I have ever done. For that day we got to walk in total for 14 hours, 6hours of that 14 hours was from 12 midnight to 6:30am in the morning, that’s when my mind started playing tricks on me, reminding me of how I could have been in a comfy bed at that moment.
CM: What are the DOs and DON’Ts when you take such a trip?
OGS: DOs: Bring your camera. Definitely bring sunscreen (my nose got badly burnt). Bring an ipod or mp3 player. Go with friends.
DON’Ts would be: Don’t forget to bring tipping money for the porters and guides (it’s a custom). Don’t bring unnecessary food snacks.
CM: Would you do this again?
OGS: Hahaha, no I will not be climbing a mountain anytime soon.
CM: Now that you inspire us to undertake this journey, what would be your best advise on how we can prepare for this trip?
OGS: I think first of all get all the DOs I mentioned, get a group of friends to go with and also do a bit of training. I almost forgot, get your altitude pills. You’ll need them up there.
CM: What would you like people to take from you about this trip and the Hassan Trust?
OGS: I would like people to realize that we as people can do anything that we set our minds to. And for Hassan Maajar Trust, I would like people to realize that thousands of kids every day sit on the floor in their classes for lessons, and if each of us play a role in abolishing this, we would be setting up a good foundation for the education of our younger brothers and sisters.
CM: For those interested? How can they contribute to your cause?
OGS: Please visit www.hassanmaajartrust.org for all the information you need.
“On Aug 18th Osse Sinare began his climb on Mount Kilimanjaro. The Climb is to raise awareness for Hassan Majar Trust an NGO started by his family in honor of his late cousin Hassan Majar who passed away November of 2006. The NGO is geared to improve learning enviroments in public schools by providing desks, furniture and other learning equipment in schools across Tanzania.”
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