How a Hong Kong domestic helper is training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity

Intrepid hiker Liza Avelino, 46, will scale the Tanzanian mountain in a latest test of her fitness and spirit

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Domestic helper Liza Avelino has worked in Hong Kong for more than two decades, and is a seasoned hiker on the city’s trails. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 4:07pm, 29 Jul 2017Updated: 11:06am, 1 Aug 2017

A Filipino domestic helper in Hong Kong is hoping to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise HK$150,000 for a local charity.

Fitness fanatic Liza Avelino, 46, who has worked in the city for more than 20 years, will leave Hong Kong on August 1, before embarking on her expedition 5,895 metres up the mountain from August 4 to 12.

Speaking to the Post ahead of her departure, Avelino said she will raise funds for non-profit group HELP for Domestic Workers (Help, Empowerment and Legal Protection) and also motivate other domestic helpers to achieve their life goals.

“It is not easy; it is not an ordinary dream,” she said. “I am confident that I can do it. I think the height is okay, but I will just try to do it slowly. I am excited because I have never been to Africa.”

Avelino, originally from Davao City in southern Philippines, is an avid hiker who has climbed more than 10 major mountains across Asia – in the Philippines, Japan and South Korea.

She has also taken part in the 100km Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker in 2010 and 2011, finishing in under 35 hours each time.

Avelino will be raising money for an NGO for domestic workers in Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

In April 2015, she fell 600 metres short of a target to scale the 6,198-metre Island Peak in Nepal, a Himalayan mountain neighbouring Everest, after suffering from the extremely cold temperatures. Then on April 25, as Avelino and her team were due to leave Nepal, the country was hit by a huge earthquake which killed more than 9,000 people and injured about 22,000 others.