what is the earth’s edge porter scholarship program?
We believe it is essential that our Earth’s Edge teams get the opportunity to progress in their chosen careers. Each year on Kilimanjaro, we reward one of our hardworking porters by paying for their training to become a guide. The course, which costs USD$900, is far beyond the means of most porters who make roughly USD$115, including tips, per climb. After they feed and house their families, there is very little money left at the end of the month. This makes attending guide school virtually impossible. Once they qualify as guides, their pay with tips will increase to roughly USD$220 per climb. This means they will have much more disposable income to feed and educate their families.
Another fantastic benefit of this programme is that it has fostered a healthy sense of competition amongst the porters. This has led to even better levels of service on the mountain!
If you or your company are interested in funding training for one of our porters, be sure to get in touch to explore options.
our porter scholarship program winners
2024 – BRAYSON
Brayson joined us as a porter in 2022, and his hard work and incredible resilience quickly earned him a role as a medical porter on our trips.
He has dreamed of being a guide, but this has always come second to educating his siblings and providing for his family after the loss of his father at an early age. This new career will be life-changing for both him and his family.
He’s fluent in French, and loves football – he’s a diehard Man United fan!
Qualified as a guide: Currently completing training!
2023 – JUMA
Juma was originally a chef, but joined us as a porter after being laid off during the pandemic. He is a member of the tent crew, and has shown great adaptability while learning this new role on the mountain.
He is a father to three wonderful children, and in his spare time he enjoys hiking and (obviously) cooking! He is also fluent in German.
A role as a guide will help him to put all of his underutilised skills to proper use, and will also help better support his family.
Qualified as a guide: Currently completing training!
2022 – ONEST
Qualified as a guide: March 2023
2021 – SAIID
Saiid has been working on Kilimanjaro for almost 10 years, in a range of different roles, including porter, tent crew, and camp manager. He is fascinated by the mountain – its landscape, and the flora and fauna unique to it.
He found his guide training experience very valuable, allowing him to obtain both new knowledge and opoortunities. He enjoys guiding as it allows him to help people in a greater capacity, supporting clients more closely on their journeys and meeting new people. He is happy to be able to give back to his country and his family economically.
Qualified as a guide: March 2023
2020 – EDSON
Edson has been working on Kilimanjaro for 10 years. He joined us in 2017 as a porter, and his passion and willingness to learn saw him given additional responsibilities in 2018, when he began working in the dining tent. This lead to him training as a cook during the pandemic.
He was chosen for the scholarship due to his dedication, his desire to keep learning, his want to work with clients, and the incredible development in his English and other skills over the years. He loves being a guide, and this new role has also allowed him to better support his family.
Qualified as a guide: February 2022
2019 – THOMAS
Qualified as a guide: May 2019
2018 – FUSO
Qualified as a guide: May 2019
