She carried them in her backpack on the nine-day trek to Base Camp, on a banner inscribed with the names and messages—Don’t look down, Madge!—of 700 supporters. On 10 March 2004, those 700 people knew their names were on top of the world.
‘I liked the whole idea of a collective endeavour’, Madge explains. ‘I didn’t want it to be about me going to Mount Everest, because that’s just one person. I wanted it to be a feel-good factor for a whole lot of people.’
Madge
McGuire is director of Catherine House in Adelaide, a housing project
for homeless women established in 1988 by the Sisters of Mercy. Currently
Catherine House provides emergency or long-term accommodation.
Unfortunately, they are aware of a gap in the service they provide. Madge says, ‘When the women leave Catherine House, they’re often reinventing themselves—establishing a new life—and that can be very lonely. They need somewhere to go when the day feels empty.’
A community centre staffed with an outreach worker would help to fill this void. If things started to unravel for the women, there would be quick support available so they wouldn’t end up coming back to Catherine House. Madge hopes that such a facility would help stop the reccurrence of homelessness.
That’s what inspired her to consider climbing Mount Everest to raise funds for a community centre. ‘The idea just percolated with me’, she says.
Madge laughs when recalling the gasps expressed by others—they couldn’t imagine her climbing the 5364 metres to Base Camp, Mount Everest. ‘I’ve never trekked. I’m not athletic in any shape or form.’ One of Madge’s standard phrases used to be: ‘I’m allergic to sweat’.
When people realised she was serious about climbing Mount Everest, it began to capture their imagination. The idea of somebody with as little experience in athletics and fitness as Madge climbing Mount Everest made people consider how much more they might actually be capable of themselves. The women of Catherine House were especially enthusiastic.
Her family’s initial reaction was concern. Her son reminded her that many people died attempting the climb. Madge took his warning about fitness seriously, climbing 13 flights of stairs twice a day and doing long weekend walks as training. ‘My family have been stupendous, and very encouraging. I got a really big welcome back; they feel proud and pleased I’ve done it.’
The year long appeal began as a step in faith for Madge on 28 August 2003. The first target of $75,000 was a token amount, according to Madge, but when donations hit $90,000 six months later she could see the target double and a community centre running for at least two years. ‘Then it could prove itself as a way to reduce the numbers coming back to Catherine House’, she explains.
Madge hopes to break down intolerance, stereotypes and myths about women who are homeless and remove the labels of ‘no hoper’, ‘drug addict’ or ‘welfare dependent’.
‘When people think of homeless women they think of women sleeping rough. In reality it is a combination of circumstances. They usually come to Catherine House when they have run out of couches to crash on. They often don’t tell their friends and family they are there.
‘A choice here or there made differently and it could be you or me in Catherine House. These women are your mother, sister, neighbour, co-worker’, Madge says.
The idea for the banner was born out of this spirit. Madge thought it would be a good way to include people in the adventure.
‘For me it was a whole spiritual journey as well as a physical adventure, which meant so much more. It was a collective venture because of the support, and because of the magnificence of the women of Catherine House, who really inspire me’, she says. ‘You wouldn’t believe the goodness that has been released because of this appeal.’
Madge felt that goodwill and support every step of the way. She caught her first glimpse of Mount Everest in March when they reached Everest View Hotel. ‘The first thing that struck me was the grandeur. It’s so majestic.
‘The beauty of God’s creation was so evident in the people of Nepal, in the environment, the countryside, especially the mountains. For the Nepalese people, the mountains are the cradle of the gods. Everest is Sagarmatha, which means goddess of the universe. It’s a very spiritual and prayerful place…’
Madge developed tendonitis in her right shoulder prior to leaving for Nepal. She received treatment but on the rigorous climb to Tyboche her shoulder seized again. She couldn’t put her arm in a sling to relieve the pressure—she needed her arm free for balance.
‘Even when I was jiggered, I knew I had seven hundred names on my back and the goodness of all the people who supported Catherine House—supported me—was tangible.’
Prayer partners were also important to Madge’s daily routine. From 8 am to10 am Madge would link in across the universe, remembering someone else, and that person remembering her. ‘…That got me kick-started because I would rejoice and celebrate my relationship, friendship and the story that I had with them in my life…’
Climbing nine days to Base Camp for hours on end was gruelling. ‘You’re always looking out for roofs of the next settlement. When you’ve been walking for six hours, you’re anxious to get to the end. When I saw the roofs of the settlement at Dingboche, I got very emotional. I cried and cried—suddenly I had the whole huge story of the women of Catherine House well up in me.’
It was important to Madge that the women had been part of the whole experience. In her heart, she felt that if she made it, the women of Catherine House could make it too. One woman’s story, in particular, touched Madge’s spirit. The woman had left Catherine House and was anxious for the community centre to be established because she was so lonely.
‘Her name was on the banner, and she was hanging out for March 10 because she knew she would be on top of the world. She cheered me on by saying "Go Madge, go. You can do this. Do it for the women of Catherine House". When I got to Dingboche it was her face I pictured and that was why I felt so emotional about it.’
The
supporters who signed the banner weren’t the only ones to accompany
Madge to base camp. Tina Turner, John Denver and Frank Sinatra inspired
Madge to move and groove over the tough terrain. ‘Dance gives me
energy so it was a way to energise my spirit and my legs to get me up
there.’ Even Madge’s fellow countryman, Billy Connelly, talked
her through the journey.
Another comfort was the Hail Mary. ‘It worked really well for going up boulders—and there were boulders upon boulders, so it became a mantra. I did thousands.’
Madge’s Mount Everest Appeal will end with a jazz night on 28 August. In the meantime, she is hoping to tell as many people as she can the story of Catherine House and the inspiration behind her climb to Base Camp, Mount Everest.
Then one day, Madge says, ‘the banner will hang in the new community centre so when each woman comes in she’ll know that all these people cared enough to make this happen. And that has been a great message all along the way.’
If you would like to make a donation to the Mount Everest Appeal, please phone (08) 8232 2282, email them here or visit their website here
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