At the age of sixty-two, retired Kenyan teacher Professor James Kagambi has made history by becoming the first Kenyan and the first African citizen ever to reach the summit of Everest.

Kagambi reached the summit of the world's highest mountain at 8848 meters last Thursday, May 12, after a grueling 40-day climb.
Kagambi accomplished a tremendous feat, not only because he is the first black man born on the African continent to climb Everest, but because the expedition, organized by Californian Philip Henderson, was the first composed entirely of African American mountaineers.
"Full Circle Everest," that's the project conceived in the U.S. last year to encourage people of color to achieve great feats in the mountains to "not stop dreaming" and to confirm the aptitude of the new generation of African Americans to reach the world's highest peaks.

Of course, Kenyan Kagambi is not one of the youngsters in mountaineering on the Dark Continent, and he is by no means a neophyte, as the former National Outdoor Leadership School instructor has been climbing mountains since as far back as 1987 and has been a backpacking, climbing and mountaineering instructor in Africa, Chile and the United States. Kagambi has climbed three of the world's seven highest peaks and in 1992 represented Africa in the United Nations peace climb on Mount Eiger in Switzerland.

On Dec. 12, 2013, he also was one of five mountaineers to reach the summit of Batian, Mt. Kenya, raising the Kenyan flag to mark 50 years of independence.
"I didn't think I would get this high, given my advanced age and weak knees, but I pushed myself to the next level. Africans need to know that this space exists for them as well," said Kagambi. "At one point I had decided to give up, it was the love of snow and the thought that it could be the last attempt of my life that kept me going, and shortly afterwards I regained strength and enthusiasm.
And Kenya's flag now flies along with many others on the roof of the world.

(photo: facebook)