Why We Climb

Mphukira's commitment to kidney health did not begin as an academic exercise.

Kidney disease has already changed the lives of its founders. 

In 2023, Emmanuel Maliro became critically ill and learned that he had been born with one kidney—and that kidney had failed.

What followed became a shared journey. Kidney failure shaped not only Emmanuel's health, but the life he and Susan Brown were building together: where they lived, how they spent their days, the decisions they made, the uncertainty they carried, and what they imagined for their future. They navigated treatment and healthcare systems across countries while living with the practical and deeply personal consequences of serious kidney disease.

Their experience left them with a question that cannot be answered retrospectively:

What might have been possible if he had known sooner?

They cannot know. 

Earlier knowledge cannot guarantee a different outcome. But it can preserve possibilities—opportunities to understand risk, protect kidney health, seek appropriate care, make informed decisions, or simply have more time to prepare.

That experience helped shape Mphukira's starting point.