Two sisters conquer Mount Afadjato on Easter Sunday

This Easter witnessed an extraordinary feat by two sisters from Queensland International School in Accra to conquer Mount Afadjato. At a height of 885m Mount Afadjato is the highest Mountain in Ghana. The young ladies Freda Kwakye-Maafo -12 years and her sister Hailey - 9 years, had earlier joined relatives trekking over an hour and a half in the Liati Wote thick forest to see the nearby Tagbo Falls at 195 meters on the other side of the mountain. Mountain guides were startled by the determination of the two young girls to tackle the mountain less than an hour after their return from the waterfalls. Led by a young mountain guide Grant, the ladies headed for the peak of the mountain showing little nerve and with sheer grit and verve encouraged their older counterparts to conquer the mountain.

It had rained heavily the night before and the mountain tracks had become slippery. Overcoming some of the highest gradients, granite rocks, slippery slopes, bugs and biting flies these ladies initial plan was just to reach halfway but changed their minds to go all the way to the top; finally reaching the top of the mountain when two adult members of their team, an uncle and a family friend were forced to give up due to excessive fatigue and health concerns. Insisting that it was not the achievement itself but how it was done is what will stay with some of the mountain guides who witnessed the feat for a long time.

“It was an exciting feeling and a great buzz to see two young girls demonstrating sheer grit and determination, by holding hands in support of each other with words of encouragement when the going got tough”. Seeing men and women twice their age descending the mountain in despair, some of whom had brought with them personal trainers to urge them on.

This encouraged their father and aunty to also get to the top albeit on all fours. If climbing the highest mountain in Ghana was tough, descending the mountain after heavy rainfall amidst slippery slopes and loose rocks was even a greater challenge given that most of the fatalities at the site had been injuries from falls descending the mountain. The ladies with their father and aunt arrived down the mountain amidst rapturous applauds from onlookers, other guides and other mountaineers some of whom had failed to get thus far was the highlight of the day.

Asked what kept them motivated, Freda and Hailey were of the view that the guide was very helpful, giving them assurances that they were almost at the top even at halfway which kept them pressing on. They also hoped that the feat could put them in their school’s record books as the first ladies from the school to have achieved the feat. Hailey insisting that conquering Mount Afadjato at the age of nine showed that she was strong, tough and could do anything through Christ who strengthens her. Their father Frederich, an IT Chief at the University of Ghana said he had seen something in her children he never knew they possessed and that at certain points of the journey he contemplated giving up due to safety concerns but seeing the two young ladies resolve to reach the top he was encouraged to also complete.