The Expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro as a part of Tata Steel’s Centenary, undertaken by 9 adventurous women from Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) under the aegis of Ms Bachendri Pal was successfully completed on June 29, 2008 at 11.00 am (IST). According to news received from Tanzania, all 9 women from India reached the summit of Mt. Killimanjaro 19335 ft.

It is for the first time that an Indo African Team led by Bachendri Pal, the First Indian Woman to climb Mt. Everest has reached a height of 19335 ft and created history with this accomplishment. It is a moment of great pride and celebration for Tata Steel in its centenary year. The all women team left India on June 23 on the Expedition to climb the highest peak in Africa - the World’s tallest free standing mountain.

On the team’s arrival in Tanzania, they were informed about the challenges of taking up the Machame route for the Expedition. They were discouraged from taking that path. However, the determination of the all women team led by an equally steadfast and courageous leader, Ms. Bachendri Pal was unaltered and the team did not falter to take up the route decided earlier. A brilliant display of resilience and tenacity inspite of facing high altitude sickness and acclimatization problems because of low oxygen, the team stuck together. They began their climb for the summit on 28 June at 11.30 pm in the night. Encouraging and supporting one another they continued for nearly nine hours before reaching the summit at 8.30 am (Tanzania time) on 29th June. A felicitation was organised for the team on behalf of THE African Government to acknowledge their spirit of adventure.

The team is scheduled to arrive in the Capital on July 6, 2008 at 9.00 hours IST. The team members are as follows - Bachendri Pal (Leader and Chief – Tata Steel Adventure Foundation), Lovely Das West Bengal, Rajal Patel Gujarat, Sushma Bissa Rajasthan, Parul Sah Madhya Pradesh, L. Annapurna, Premlata Agarwal, Chetna Sahoo, Anita Soren Jharkhand. Christina John Mlowe joined the team in Tanzania. She is a Tanzanian National working in Tata Africa Sales Unit.

Tata Steel Centenary Indo – African Expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro is a tribute to the glorious 100 years of Tata Steel by TSAF. It re-enforces the philosophy of the company which believes that Sports is a way of Life at Tata Steel. Year on year, Ms. Bachendri Pal takes up challenging assignments of this nature with an all women team and it is always supported by Tata Steel. The Company strongly believes in women empowerment and since its inception has left no stone unturned to promote adventures like this.