Maika’i Projects: a different climbing story

I met a guy named Ángel Paraíso, one of the founders of Maika’i Projects and this is a story about how passion breaks down the limits and barriers. Read the interview and get inspired by a different point of view on rock climbing and people without borders...

But firstly a short introduction: what is this project about? and what are people in the Maika'i doing exactly?

The Maika'i Projects is a non-profit organization that promotes escalation in areas, that are difficult to access, with their values and benefits, giving visibility to the NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) in the United States with which they collaborate.

Their philosophy is to show climbing to the people as a tool for the development of the physical, mental, emotional and social values which it brings. Values like health, mindfulness, motivation, trust and confidence, self-improvement, resilience, teamwork, equality, empathy and community development overall.

The Maika'i create independent projects such as the construction of climbing walls or establishing a volunteer to train, teach and carry out activities related to climbing and the natural environment. 

Like they say, in sequence order:

Ángel, who are you and how was the Maika’i Projects born?

Hey there! My name is Ángel Paraíso, I’m 26 years old and I come from Madrid (Spain). The idea of Maika’i Projects started from a personal urge to create something with a positive impact on people and the World, and also due to my previous experiences I had years ago. I studied the field of "Social integration" and I’ve always been into sports, so at some point, the two paths had to be linked in my life.

I did a volunteering trip to Uganda in 2017/2018, but I wasn’t happy with the limited time we had to finish something. So with Pablo Antholin, another Maika'i founder, we decided to come back in 2019 and build something long-term, that could change the lives of people there and connect our love for climbing and the need to do something.

That's how we decided to build the climbing wall in a school and offer a new, Different sport that could impact lives and bring peace to young people’s everyday struggles.

How many people started with Maika’i Projects? What was your motive for choosing to build the climbing walls?

Well, at the beginning it was just two of us, Pablo and me. Now our team counts seven people in just four years of functioning (with a world pandemic in the middle that stopped our work).

Truth to be told, our project wasn’t a "unique" idea. We got inspired by similar work all around the world.

"It was pretty clear that climbing is our way to change people’s lives. I mean: it changed ours, so why not try TO show it TO someone else?"

Our inspiration was primarily from the guys of ClimbAID, which is a Swiss NGO. They started with crowdfunding, got a van and brought climbing walls around. Firstly in Lebanon with a project called Climbing for Peace and nowadays they are very active in Switzerland: The MaXi Family or Der Würfel projects, and finally in Greece, the project named Pame Pano! - Let's go up!

Another inspiration for us has been the guys of Fundacion Deporte Libre who bring climbing and sport to schools in Chile. I mean, they are bringing mountains to the schools, literally!

You have three active projects now. Two are held in Greece and one in Uganda. Can you tell us more details about all of them?

Yes, that is correct. Our first project started in Uganda, in Kimya, followed by two projects in Greece: Katsikas near Ioannina in the refugee camp and the other on Lesbos Island.

Kumwenya Climbing Wall in Uganda has been the pilot, even though it had to stop a few years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic and an outburst of Ebola. But now it’s slowly continuing, again. The idea was to build a climbing wall in the school of Kumwenya (from the NGO Kelele Africa).

The main reason was to give a new, different opportunity for the school kids, but also to create a climbing project between other schools. It’s been a difficult process, in the middle of the jungle, with no electricity and with limited supplies.

It took us a while to build everything, but then it was a huge success! Firstly it started just with the kids, but after a while, everybody wanted to try climbing! It was great! 

"I remember The girls didn’t want to come and give it a try, but after a while, they were doing two-hand dynos! It was awesome!"

Unfortunately, things stopped for a short period, but in 2022 a volunteer gave us a helpful hand and we fixed a few things on the wall, built crash pads and added more holds. Now we are looking for someone who could stay there a bit longer and be present for the people for at least 6 months, to keep building and growing the community.

The project named Bullet in Katsikas started thanks to a video we posted about the Kumwenya Climbing Wall in Uganda. It got a lot of views and likes plus we were contacted by Emilia Koralova who was part of the Women's Sport Project with Iman Namizwalla of Habibi Works in Greece.

The idea started from the necessity of the women at the refugee camp (mainly Islamic religion) to do sports and activities and stay busy from the hard routine of the camp, but also to be in a safe environment away from the influence of men.

Emilia is a mountain lover and climber, and around Ioannina, there are plenty of rock climbing walls. In the last months a lot of new sectors have been bolted, so check it out! Her idea was to bring climbing inside the routine of the refugees.

We started collecting money, selling t-shirts, and raising funds to buy climbing holds and other materials. We created a climbing wall just inside the building in the refugee camp that "Habibi Works" has for the people. It’s a big warehouse where are held loads of activities and sports such as boxing, volleyball, wood workshops, technology, kitchens, arts, yoga, and anything that volunteers can offer.

We built a small climbing wall, where you could climb no matter the weather conditions outside and that is the story of how the idea became a reality in 2021! It’s great to have climbing possibilities there and get people passionate about it, along with the other sport activities.

Finally comes the project on Lesbos Island and it was a natural progression after all the connections between NGOs made through the last years. Particularly it started thanks to the organisation Yoga and Sport with Refugees, where they had a climbing wall in the indoor gym. The wall was already built, but it missed the sparkle to make things smoother and more active.

During our trip to Greece in 2022 and after staying in Ioannina, we travelled to the island and got connected to the local people. After that, we started creating events, climbing lessons, workshops, setting new routes, and having a good time thanks to the volunteers who gave their soul and sweat to this amazing project.

What I love the most is seeing so many different people from everywhere in the world, speaking different languages, but at the same time, cooperating and supporting each other and they are a part of something that unites us.

How was the experience of introducing climbing, which might look new and uncommon, to the people who came to Europe as refugees?

Like you would imagine when you bring someone new to your local gym or on the rocks! It was difficult to introduce climbing to adults as climbing on coloured holds was seen as a kids’ game. But with the right motivation and challenge, everybody got involved. The women at the beginning didn’t want to be part of climbing, but with the right climbing challenges and games to play, they started trying and showed their technical moves on delicate problems. While men loved the powerful ones. It was all about finding the right thing for everyone.

The most wonderful thing was to see how everybody was supporting each other. I still remember Eisa (one of the refugees currently living in Paris) told me: "You know, the thing that I loved the most was getting on the top while others were cheering me from the bottom. At this moment, I felt that I could do anything in my life!"

Do groups of people in Katsikas or Lesbos manage to climb outside on the rocks regularly?

Actually yes, it’s great! In Katsikas in just 10 minutes by bike, there are plenty of rock sectors with lots of routes and newly developed crags. We usually climb every Friday outside on the rocks. Whilst in Lesbos, there are a lot of cool boulders around, so instead of taking the ropes, we take the crash pads and go for bouldering!

Did you notice different interests in climbing between men and women during projects?

It’s difficult to say, every single time is different. The projects in the camps depend on the people that are currently there and that is changing all the time. Yes, sometimes you manage to have the same people for months but other times there are not too many people and things seem not to be working well. Or all of a sudden, a lot of new people come and the scheme changes again....

In the beginning, we mainly had women and it was a solid group. I remember that one of them was pushing and motivating the others to join and give it a try and it was wonderful! Other times we had a lot of young people, mainly guys. In Lesbos there is a nice group of young women that are starting to train, but before that, we just work only with the guys.

I’m sure you had to face difficult times during the process, but on the other hand, there must be some powerful moments to remember. Can you describe one of each?

Difficult moments, ha...so, so many! I think mainly during our first project in Uganda, where the everyday problems became bigger and annoying. The delays, the impossibility of accessing material when needed, and the lack of electricity, but the hardest thing was our limited period there.

Sometimes we put all of our effort, but things don’t depend entirely on us. Time starts to run out and we almost have to leave with nearly anything done and the impossibility of continuing the project. In the end, we all had a life to go back to and leaving with unfinished things was a horrible feeling. 

Or when we were in Greece, all of a sudden, there was another COVID-19 epidemic outburst and everything stopped.

My happiest moments were seeing how the refugee people and the local climbing community in Greece connected. We organized a little competition and it was amazing to see locals climbing and talking with people from Afghanistan, Lebanon and anywhere else in the world. The locals invited the guys to join them on the rocks, discussing the boulder problems…that was something! And it still is! 

Like always: "Everything ends up well, you know..."

Did you have any support from institutions or brands that could collaborate on the projects?

The help of institutions and government, no. We put money in from our savings, but as soon as we started, we got support from the climbing community. We did crowdfunding and started selling t-shirts (which you may find on our website).

We sold about 700 t-shirts in a little period and that gave us a good starting income to build things up. Also, we had support from a few brands, donating materials, ropes, crash pads and climbing holds...

How can people contribute to support those projects?

There are three ways how you can support us. First of all: donating material (mainly in Madrid), but you can contact us and we can arrange transportation. If you have any extra climbing material you do not need any more, we will give it a second life in our climbing centres. Also, financial donations to our bank account are very appreciated.

Another way of supporting our projects is through Patreon. Just with the price of one beer a month, you can do a lot!

The third way is being a volunteer in any of these projects on your own and for how long you are available and how long you want. No limitations! Going there and giving classes in climbing, yoga or anything you may offer, will be highly appreciated.

Currently, we would like to have a team of mountain guides and maybe start ascending some of the mountain peaks too. Last but not least, we have a little e-shop where you can support us by buying our famous T-shirt. Other merchandise will soon be released too. (smiling)

BUY MAIKAI PRODUCTS TO SUPPORT

Do you keep in touch with some of the people who left the centres? Are they still climbing?

Yes, absolutely! We keep in touch with some of them, who travelled through Europe and are finding their new homes anywhere else. A lot of people went to Germany and France. They tell us how things are going there, how are the local climbing gyms (and how expensive they are!), sending us videos of them progressing with their journey. 

"It’s cool to see how the seed you planted in them, started growing and how people found a passion and connections through climbing and sports."

If you want a greater insight, you can see this video of Ramadan Asali. He was in our center and now he keeps climbing and explains his story there:

RAMADAN ASALI STORY

What is the future of Maika’i Projects? Dou you have any vision?

We would like to get things more stable and smoother, having a solid base of volunteers and people there who can keep things running.

You know, we are a bunch of people from Madrid, we have our jobs and regular life and it’s not easy, but it’s our dream and target to be able to dedicate fully to those projects and being able to bring climbing in places, where it can be a tool of social inclusion.

Also, we are starting a local project here in Vallecas, so we are getting our instructor certifications here to make things as official as possible to create a solid base. Anyways, if you want to stay updated on our projects, you can follow our Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or website.

Angel, it was great to discover Maika’i Projects and the people behind it. Thank you so much!