Hayden woman to climb Kilimanjaro, support war-torn women

Krista Gilbert is standing on the precipice of a global movement. Soon, she'll be standing on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

But she's not going alone.

Gilbert and 16 women from across the U.S. are embarking on a peace climb for International Women's Day as a part of the One Million Thumbprints campaign, which is dedicated to overcoming the devastating effects war has on women.

"I think it’s really easy for us here to forget what's going on in the world, and specifically to women," said Gilbert, of Hayden. "Simply because they were born female, they are automatically targets. I think as women, that resonates with us because really, it could be any one of us."

Gilbert and her colleagues are taking with them the fierce determination to scale the nearly 20,000-foot mountain as a way to bring awareness to the tragedies, sexual atrocities and damage that happen to women in conflict zones. The hope is to inspire people, through advocacy, storytelling and fundraising, to rise up and call for an end to the unspeakable violence these women endure.

The organizers of One Million Thumbprints have a vision to restore confidence and normalcy to those who have been broken by the societies in which they live. The campaign advocates for the implementation of United Nations resolutions that will help protect women in conflict zones while partnering with organizations to meet needs such as food, clothing, shelter and trauma assistance.

"They really try to empower these women to not stay victims, but to come up out of that — to rise up out of those ashes and to gain skills and gain stability so they can actually earn money for their families and have a more stable lifestyle," Gilbert said.

As a part of their journey, the One Million Thumbprints climbers will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit women in refugee camps who have been victims of war violence.

"Their war tactic is they kill their men in front of them, brutally, usually violently, and then they rape them," Gilbert said. "That emotionally wrecks a person, so that’s a way they keep them oppressed. It’s terrible and it’s a tragedy and it’s something that we all should care about. If it were us, we sure would care about it."

Gilbert is a writer and mom of four who never really thought of herself as a women's advocate, but a chain of interactions and events led her to become a part of One Million Thumbprints. She met the founder, Belinda Bauman, at a writers conference last fall. She said Bauman was collecting people's thumbprints, hoping leaders attending the conference would support the cause.

"I was just taken immediately by her heart about what she was doing," Gilbert said.

At the end of November, one of the original climbers dropped out, so Bauman called Gilbert. It was a phone call of destiny.

"She said, 'I really feel like you're the one that’s supposed to come with us,'" Gilbert said, her eyes shining as she explained the emotional roller coaster she experienced while deciding if she was going to accept the physical and emotional challenges. She said it was "a hard yes."

"It’s a vulnerable thing when you’re a mom and you are going to a place that feels like you’re really putting yourself out there," she said. "I feel like once I said 'yes' I started gaining more and more courage. The hardest part was my week where I had to decide. I was up and down a lot that week, cried a lot. Once I said 'yes' I think my courage has grown."

Gilbert's 17-year-old daughter, McKenna, said just the preparation for her mom's journey has brought their family closer together. Krista's husband — who happens to be a mountaineer — and their kids have helped her with training and accompanied her on Canfield Mountain hikes.

"It’s very hard to let her go on something like this, but at the same, time we're so excited for her," McKenna said. "We’re so proud of her that she’s taking this on because it’s just something that we totally would have expected our dad to do, but never my mom. Even that in itself is so empowering for her as a woman. Also, the symbolic nature of it, that them climbing is representative of these women that are trying to climb out of their own struggles themselves. I think it’ll be really good for her."

McKenna's brother, Hudson, 12, said he's worried about his mom going to Africa, but he knows it's for a good cause.

"I don't know anybody else’s parents or really anybody who has gone nationally or worldly to raise awareness for women who are being terrorized in different countries," he said.

Kilimanjaro will be a five-day ascent into high altitude and a steep two-day descent down the mountain. The climbers plan to reach the summit on International Women's Day, March 8, and they will be carrying with them a banner bearing the thumbprints of those who pledge support and "make a mark" on the issue of violence against women in war.

"The thumbprint represents so much," Gilbert said. "Every single person has a thumbprint, and it represents that we've all been made uniquely and we’re all human. Inherently we have dignity, as people, and every thumbprint matters.

“The thumbprints of the victims matter, and our thumbprints matter because we're saying we stand in solidarity with them, recognizing that they don't have a way to get out of (their situations)."

Gilbert will be blogging about her One Million Thumbprints journey on her website, www.kristagilbert.com.

A fundraiser for One Million Thumbprints will be taking place from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Flame and Cork, 9225 N. Government Way in Hayden, where Gilbert will speak about the trip. Funds raised will go to world relief programs in Congo, South Sudan, Iraq and Syria to help women overcome the effects of violence.

To add your thumbprint and learn more, visit www.onemillionthumbprints.org.