The Arrow Glacier is no longer on Kilimanjaro. The Heim Glacier was a very famous for glacier climbing before 1996 but now almost all of it has evaporated. The Northern ice fields are mostly gone as well and half of the Fortangular glacier has receded. In this interview with Navaya ole Ndaskoi, Alexander Lemunge, Executive Director and Senior Trip Leader of East African Voyage Ltd (who's led thousands of tourists to the top of Kilimanjaro, 5,895 meters) said that these are definitive footprints of global warming confronting mankind.

Question (Q): Would you mind telling our readers about your self?

Answer (A): I was born on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1968. I spent my early life supporting the family like many children in Africa and attaining formal education. In 1997 I traveled to USA to become a certified Wilderness First Responder and CPR Emergency Cardiac Care Provider. During my stay in US, he attended leadership training with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) completing the Outdoor Educator Course. I also attended several other courses with NOLS in East Africa. In the meantime, I studied a lot about High Altitude Physiology and rock climbing.

I attended an interpretation course conducted by Richard Estes who is a well known researcher, conservationist and writer who has been doing field work in Africa since 1963. I attended a two-week course at the college of Africa Wildlife Management at Mweka, Tanzania. I also worked with Tanzania National Parks Authority to organize and recruit over 500 mountain guides, currently leading trips on Mount Kilimanjaro. I trained Kilimanjaro and Meru rescue teams in rescue skills and evacuation. Currently I am doing Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Tourism at the Open University of Tanzania.

Today I have my own company called East African Voyage Company Limited and I still work on contract basis with companies as a trip leader in Tanzania, leading treks on Kilimanjaro and safari. I have been in the tourism industry in Tanzania since 1994. I led over 150 ascents on Mount Kilimanjaro. The clients I led have successfully climbed to the summit of Kilimanjaro on over 95 per cent.

Q: How do you describe the tourism infrastructure in Tanzania?

A: Infrastructure is very broad. I would like to comment on its three aspects. First, the roads are generally is poor condition. During the rain season matters goes from bad to worse. This is responsible for the high and low seasons. Tourists could flow all year round if the roads are improved. The second problem is about the flights. Very few airlines land on Kilimanjaro International Airport and Julius Nyerere International Airport. So to this day, most tourists coming to Tanzania come through Nairobi, Kenya. The problem of airports, local and international, needs to be addressed very urgently to encourage international airlines to land straight into Tanzania. Finally I would like to say that accommodation is still an acute problem that also needs to be addressed.

Q: You have been leading trips attempting to climb Kilimanjaro for over 10 years. Do you think porters who carry items of the clients are properly taken care-off?

A: There is no set-up system of how much each trip is sold. In effect different companies sell the product differently. Very few sell the product expensively and the majority sells very cheaply. Those who sell cheaply fail to pay porters and other staff. Some delay payment of their staff for months. Others do not pay at all, leaving porters to depend tips from tourists. This in turn seriously affects the quality of service they provide.

The living standard of porters is low. My opinion is that they should set-up an association with offices in Arusha, Moshi and at respective gate through which we climb Kilimanjaro such as Machame, Marangu, Mweka and Rongai. This will make them as accessible to porters as much as humanly possible. It will in turn improve their working conditions. I tried to the best of my abilities to support them in their claims since I understand the importance of their work and the need for their welfare to be taken seriously.