Dixon native to climb Kilimanjaro to raise $200,000 for Kenyan students’ college costs

A Dixon native is leading a group on a climb up Africa’s tallest mountain in January 2027 to raise $200,000 for students in Kenya pursuing higher education.Megan Bloemker-Mondoka, director of development for the non-profit Naomi’s Village, will complete the eight-day trek up to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with four other climbers. They’re making the climb to raise money for the organization’s endowment fund that helps cover university or vocational training costs for students who graduate from its school in Kenya, Bloemker-Mondoka told Shaw Local. Bloemker-Mondoka climbed the mountain once before, in 2009, with a similar mission to raise money for two schools she worked at in Africa. She started doing mission trips with a religious-based organization at around 13 years old and continued to do so throughout her years as a student at Dixon High School. “Africa kind of gets in your soul,” Bloemker-Mondoka said. “It’s about the collective community that I was able to serve...and everyb