‘One day at a time:’ Geraldine Mullan reflects on 'once in a lifetime' Kilimanjaro trek

Moville’s Geraldine joined the recent Children in Crossfire trek alongside her friend Katie Fitzpatrick of Little Stars Preschool and they have already raised over E30,000 for the charity.

Writing on The Mullan Hope Facebook page, Geraldine, who sadly lost her two children Tomás and Amelia and husband John in a road traffic collision in 2020 said the trek was a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ and one she’ll never forget.

“Put 18 strangers together on a mountain for a week, leave their luggage behind in Amsterdam and hence delay the start of the trek by a day...but that extra 24 hours gave us time to get to know one another, and in true Irish style, it resulted in lots of laughs, a lovely meal (some dodgy clothing, but needs must) a good old fashioned sing song and the start of an awesome adventure together.

"With losing mum the week before we left, it was an emotional rollercoaster for me, but I knew I had her alongside my beloved John, Tomás and Amelia to help me up that mountain.”

Geraldine outlined how each day of the trek ‘brought its own trials and tribulations.’

“We laughed, we cried, we fell but got back up again. Altezza were phenomenal - I cannot describe adequately the exceptional care Victor and his crew of 78 (I kid you not, there was a crew of 78 looking after 18 of us) did.”

Each day began with a wake-up call at 6am and the terrain included a rainforest with 30+c heat, desert and volcanic ash ‘from previous eruptions thousands of years ago, to the heights and ruggedness of Baranka wall, to Shira Camp & Lava Tower, all the while getting closer to the summit.’

Temperatures ranged from 32c on day one to -16c on summit night and each day brought the group closer.

"We chatted, we got to know each other more, we learned more about our wonderful guides and their families and realized that Kilimanjaro is a magical place that holds something for everyone,” said Geraldine.

While altitude sickness means that not everyone makes it to the summit, Geraldine did and said she will ‘always remember’ summit night,

She continued: “All our concentration was to keep moving and as I've done since 20th August 2020, keep putting one foot in front of the other & that we did through the night. “

Geraldine expressed how the view of the night sky and the stars lighting their way reminded her of her own four bright stars – John, Tomás Amelia and her mum Margaret .

The moment they reached the summit was ‘truly phenomenal’ and ‘tears were shed’.

" I closed my eyes and could picture my beloved family all smiling down with love and pride, I could almost hear Tomás and Amelia say "well done mummy, we knew you could do it" my darling husband John saying "that's my Galway girl, you did it" and my beautiful mum Margaret saying "good girl, one day at a time and you got to the top like I knew you would"... & the tears came like I knew they would, but there is healing in tears & for me there was healing in Kilimanjaro for me that week.

"My message to myself and others always to never lose hope, I decided to leave a little hope at the summit of Kilimanjaro and so I left my biodegradable letters of H-O-P-E designed in the Harry Potter script (a nod to Tomás and Amelia's love of HP) at the top as we all need a little hope each & everyday. I also left (again biodegradable) a small momento to John, Tomás and Amelia and my mum so others may read and know of my beloved family.”

Geraldine told how the return to the hotel, following the descent, was ‘surreal’.

With the week on the mountain over and joined by Children in Crossfire founder Richard Moore, they set off to visit the charity’s projects in Dodama and Dar Es Salaam.

" To see those beautiful faces of young innocent children made everything worthwhile... seeing firsthand the amazing work Children In Crossfire do and seeing how the children benefit.”

Geraldine added a few extra days to her stay as her milestone 50th birthday was ‘fast approaching’ and travelled to Zambia.

She arrived home on March 5.

“And so my African adventure came to an end, but adventure it surely was and I got so much from it, apart from the aches and pains, I got to be part of this amazing group, I got to raise vital funds for this amazing charity and I got to see firsthand where all your generous donation went to.”

Geraldine thanked everyone who has supported her along the way, as well as her family and friends, her’ amazing tent mate for the week Katie Fitzpatrick for all the laughs along the way,’ and to everyone who has donated.

"And last but not least to my beloved John Tomás Amelia and most recently mum who helped me put one foot in front of the other, not just on my Kilimanjaro trek but everyday since our fateful night....as the line from mum's favourite song and what we concluded her funeral mass with a few short weeks ago it's simply "one day at a time"....

The fundraising page is still online and you can donate at https://justgiving.com/page/children-in-crossfire-trekkingkili25