"Zamda's Kilimanjaro Journal" (Nahida Esmail)

This summer, in Tanzania, I met Nahida Esmail, an award winning writer of books for children and young adults. I had heard her name, but meeting her and talking with her revealed a writer with a passion for writing for children and young adults. I decided to acquire and read her works, starting with Zamda's Kilimanjaro Journal, which is available online, for free.

Zamda's Kilimanjaro Journal is, indeed, a journal, written by Zamda, a fictional sixteen year old girl from the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam. She records her experiences and observations about different places, situations, and people, especially her parents, teachers, and schoolmates. Born and raised in a Muslim family, she is proud of her faith and makes pertinent references to prayers and Islamic teachings.

Zamda's journal takes an abrupt turn when a teacher declares that the students will be going on a field trip, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Zamda completely dislikes the idea of climbing mountains. However, as the days pass, the school's preparations for the trip intensify. Zamda gets more and more anxious, hoping, for example, that her parents would refuse to grant permission for her to go on the trip.

To Zamda's disappointment, her parents not only consent to the idea of the trip, but urge her to undertake it. They manage to persuade her, especially after telling her that the Qur'an has verses extolling mountains as pegs that keep the earth stable and firm. Zamda becomes eager to go on the trip. 

The trip goes ahead and Zamda manages to overcome all its obstacles, reaching the peak as the only student to do so, out of 24 students. She is thrilled, grateful that her parents saw the potential in her. Returning from the trip, she is celebrated by all in her school as a "shero." She has learned useful lessons from the adventure, a major one being that no matter who you are, you can always aim for the skies or the summit.

Zamda's Kilimanjaro Journal is an engaging story on various levels. One highlight, for me, is how Zamda changes her mind about mountain climbing. Nahida makes this transformation a convincing one, testimony of her storytelling skill. The happy, triumphant ending of the story is another highlight.

While reading this book, and afterwards, I looked around and discovered that Nahida is a mountain climber. She has been to many parts of the world, following mountains: Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Machu Picchu in Peru, Mount Toubkal in Morocco, Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Damavand in Iran, and Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I discovered also that she has a special interest in writing about mountain climbing and climbers. That discovery gave me a fresh perspective on her Zamda's Kilimanjaro Journal.

It might seem unusual that a teenager would keep a diary, but it was one of Zamda's teachers who had asked the students to do so, as a class project. Zamda rises to the challenge, creating a fascinating and varied account of memories and observations. Nahida writes very well, and I have no doubt that young adults will enjoy and learn from her story.