Climbing Life Kenya 2020 Annual Report

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FLORA & BELLE'S C L I M B I N G

L I F E

K E N Y A

ANNUAL REPORT 2020


Overview 2020 was an exceptional year for Climbing Life Kenya. The work we began in 2020 enabled us to further centre on our mission to connect Kenyans with rock climbing by increasing visibility, building awareness and creating opportunities. We achieved significant milestones. To name a few; we launched our website, held our first slideshow presentation, hosted rock climbing sessions for beginners, took part in industry forums, undertook a study on local participation in rock climbing, and launched our newsletter, The Kenyan Climber. Many thanks to our volunteers and supporters who share their time, resources and knowledge with us. As we celebrate our accomplishments, we remain tied-in and chalked up as much remains to be done. Climbing Life Kenya is because we are. Pamoja,

Climbinglifekenya

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2020 Climbing Life Kenya exists to connect Kenyans with rock climbing by increasing visibility, building awareness and creating opportunities that make rock climbing more accessible.

Summary of Activities Amidst the COVID-19 related constraints experienced in 2020, we held 53 events in total - a 89% increase from the 28 held in 2019.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

08 New Climbing Life Kenya Logo 08 New climbinglifekenya.org Website 11, 28 Indoor Climbing Meetup 30 Trad & Sport Climbing

09 Family Climb (Kids) 18 Buildering Fun 27 Slideshow Presentation

07 Amateur Indoor Climbing Competition 08 Women in the Outdoors Forum

MAY

JUNE

APRIL 03 Buildering Fun 06 Climbing Life - Sport for Peace and Development

JULY

AUGUST

15, 20 Sport Climbing 22, 27 Outdoor Bouldering

14 Outdoor Bouldering 27 Trad Climbing 29 Rock Climbing for Beginners

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

01 We Train Together Training Program starts (Episode 01) 06-08 Women Uprising Takeover 10 Rock Climbing for Beginners 12 Family Rock Climbing Excursion 23 Trad climbing 24 Rock Climbing for Beginners 31 Rock Climbing Excursion (OL)

02 We Train Together Episode 02 07 Rock Climbing for Beginners 13 Rock Climbing Excursion (KH) 15 Panelist - Climbing Advocacy Conference 16 Indoor Rock Climbing Training 21 Rock Climbing for Beginners 22 Family Rock Climbing Excursion 26 Trad climbing

EVENTS 89% MORE IN 2020

03.

04 Circumspectacles Interview 26 15 Hours of Hell on Mt. Kenya 26-29 TCI Climbing Community Highlight on Kenya

02 Solidarity 25 climbinglifekenya.org/blog

SEPTEMBER 05 Women Uprising Training 11 Launch of The Kenyan Climber (Issue 01) 11 Opinion Piece on the Impact of Covid-19 on Local Kenyans' Participation in Rock Climbing 17 Trad Climbing 18,19 Sport Climbing 24 Trad Climbing

DECEMBER 5&6 Sport Lead Climbing Training 09 We Train Together Episode 03 10 Panelist - A Seat at The Table: Future of BIPOC Storytelling 12 Rock Climbing for Beginners 19 The Kenyan Climber Issue 02 19 Study on Factors Affecting Local Kenyans' Participation in Rock Climbing

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"As a first timer, I was very skeptical because I've heard stories of people falling and dying during rock climbing expeditions. I was already making excuses to not do the climbs. However, the belayers really encouraged me and guided me in the tricky areas of the climb. There's a satisfactory feeling one gets when they reach at the top of the climb which they really helped me achieve. We were even given basic training on how to do rock climbing and understand the jargon used with rock climbers. I'd definitely want to climb again with Climbing Life Kenya." ABDALLA SAID


Increase Visibility Build Awareness By increasing visibility and building awareness, Climbing Life Kenya opens up the local Kenyan climber to opportunities and possibilities around them and emboldens them to step into a space where they would have otherwise felt unwelcome.

Website climbinglifekenya.org

The website was particularly instrumental in building awareness when movement was restricted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. Others 8%

UK 4%

US 6%

Kenya 82% Web Traffic by Country

82%

SITE VISITORS ARE BASED IN KENYA

Kenyans have accessed locally curated rock climbing information and resources to enrich their rock climbing experiences.

04.

Through climbinglifekenya.org we reached 1098 unique visitors from 45 different countries. and shared with them information on rock climbing in Kenya.

@climbinglifekenya In 2020, our social media connections grew +50%

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Create Opportunities By deliberately creating opportunities with the local Kenyan climbers in mind, Climbing Life Kenya helps empower the local Kenyans to define their personal rock climbing experience - on their own terms.

Rock Climbing

Local Participation

We held 25 outdoor rock climbing excursions which included Entry Sessions for Beginners and family rock climbing excursions. We managed to achieve this great feat after covid-19 related movement restrictions were lifted in late 2020.

Through our rock climbing opportunities and building of awareness, Climbing Life Kenya is working towards making active and engaged involvement of the local Kenyans in rock climbing a reality.

74% Local Kenyans

had no prior rock climbing experience

38%

85%

87%

31%

Women

Volunteering Climbing is a giving sport. This has been exemplified by the volunteers who have given their time, resources and knowledge to Climbing Life Kenya's mission. 50% of our volunteers are women. 75% of our volunteers are of African descent.

05.

did not have any climbing gear

14% of our volunteers were participants in previous Climbing Life Kenya events

64%

Youth

took part in more than one climbing event

9% of the participants who did not own gear during our events had purchased an item of personal climbing gear by the end of 2020.

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Social Impact Equity Participation Climbing Life Kenya deliberately creates opportunities that encourage local participation and create a sense of belonging and community. 74% of our 2020 were local Kenyans.

74%

Kenyans

Social Inclusion Through Climbing Life Kenya activities we have seen people from different backgrounds (and who would never interact in other circumstances) coming together in an environment of mutual respect and experiencing a profound sense of belonging and togetherness.

Climbing as a tool for positive social impact

Women Empowerment Climbing Life Kenya is a local female-led non-profit initiative. Empowering women to find strength in their vulnerabilities and circumstance is important to us and we have been able to achieve this through rock climbing.

Youth 85% of our participants are below 35 years old. In addition to enjoyment, the youth have noted physical and mental benefits as some of the key takeaways from rock climbing.

38% of our participants are women

50% OF OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE WOMEN

85% of our participants are youth

06.

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"It was an exhilarating, scary and extremely rewarding experience. I really enjoyed the opportunity to not only learn basics of rock climbing, but to problem solve and engage my mind, emotions and body during the climb. Really Loved it! The team was A1, always pushing and encouraging climbers to push through, it helps that they are really passionate and knowledgeable which made it easier to relax and enjoy the climb. I am currently recommending this to everyone I know 😃 ." SUNDAY NJERI


Increase Visibility Build Awareness By increasing visibility and building awareness, Climbing Life Kenya opens up the local Kenyan climber to opportunities and possibilities around them and emboldens them to step into a space where they would have otherwise felt unwelcome.

The Kenyan Climber Climbing Life Kenya's Official Newsletter The Kenyan Climber serves as one of Climbing Life Kenya's platforms for connecting Kenyans with rock climbing through sharing of information and knowledge. Our Newsletter builds rock climbing awareness, keeping climbers and the general public informed of happenings and opportunities in the local and international climbing world.

Growth in readership in Issue 02 75% of our readers are based in Kenya; 25% from other countries around the world. 08.

453% climb i n g l i f ekenya.or g


Highlights

1

Study: Factors affecting Local Kenyans’ Participation in Rock Climbing

2

Covid-19: An Opportunity For Action Towards More Inclusivity

An exploratory study ... he information gathered through this study has helped us streamline the focus of our efforts in addressing barriers that limit local Kenyans’ involvement in rock climbing activities and also contribute to the body of knowledge around rock climbing in Kenya from a local perspective! CLIMBINGLIFEKENYA.ORG/RESEARCH

CLIMBINGLIFEKENYA.ORG/BLOG

We Train Together: Training for climbing with Rémi Samyn

Climbing Advocacy Conference: The State of JEDI in Climbing

3

CLIMBINGLIFEKENYA.ORG/WE-TRAIN-TOGETHER

09.

4

CLIMBINGLIFEKENYA.ORG

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When Edwin Ngugi started providing transport for Climbing Life Kenya's participants to rock climbing destinations, he did not expect to find an opportunity to start climbing himself. Now, Edwin enjoys rock climbing and frequently helps out during our climbing sessions.

"I have learned a lot from Climbing Life Kenya; belaying 😁 and patience. You are very reassuring and professional. Keep it up!" EDWIN NGUGI


We thank you for your ongoing support of our programme

Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the Climbing Life Kenya team for their efforts behind our results. Their hard work and love for rock climbing have allowed Climbing Life Kenya to navigate against all odds and continue to achieve growth and progression. We also recognize our volunteers and supporters. Thank you for helping us make a difference in achieving our mission. We appreciate your selfless giving.

Climbing Life Kenya +254 (0) 758 823 838 www.climbinglifekenya.org info@climbinglifekenya.org PARTNER . CLIMB . VOLUNTEER


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