Africa's Highest Challenge - The Project's Objectives

Africa's Highest Challenge is for one man to summit the highest mountain in each of the 53 countries in the continent of Africa - a World Record that has not been attempted before and one that Ginge Fullen will undertake to achieve beginning in January 2001.

Following Ginge's successful world record to climb the highest mountain in every country in Europe (a World Record completed in 1999), this new challenge will be more dangerous and more difficult than before. Ginge is not willing to settle on previous performances, he needs another challenge in life and Africa's Highest Challenge is just that!

"I learned with my European Project, it's not just about climbing mountains. Without the help of all the people that I have met, the European project would have been very difficult. Without the help of the local people in Africa, and I am depending on it, the Africa Project will be impossible."

The project will also be used as a vehicle to raise funds for charity. The Project Team is currently in the process of finalising the charities for which we will raise money.

           The Continent

Africa is the second largest of the world's seven continents encompassing a diverse terrain from the world's largest desert to extensive rainforests. It covers 22% of the world's total land area with it northernmost tip, Cape Blanc in Tunisia to is southernmost tip, Cape Agulhas in South Africa. The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m) in Tanzania and its lowest point is Lake Assai (153m below sea level) in Djibouti. The climate of Africa is the most uniform of any of the continents.

Although Africa covers about one-fifth of the world's land surface, the continent has only about 12% of world's population. The population was estimated to be about 627 million in the early 1990s. This figure includes highly populated areas such as the Nile Valley and areas such as the Sahara desert which is virtually uninhabited. Africa's population remains predominantly rural with only about 20% of the people living in towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants.

The continent embraces a rich variety of cultures and languages. Most traditional cultural activity centres on the family. Traditional arts, music and oral literature reinforce existing religious and social patterns.

Traditionally, the vast majority of Africans have been farmers and herders, raising crops and livestock for subsistence. Despite the expansion of industry and commerce, most Africans remain farmers and herders, although most are now producing for the market. Mineral extraction provides the bulk of African export earnings and these include gold, diamond and oil.