On Saturday, the 13th of July, The Nelson Mandela Foundation in partnership with the Imbumba Foundation will be sending off the 2019 Trek4Mandela Expedition team at O. R. Tambo International Airport to wish them well on their climb.
Trek4Mandela was founded in 2012 by South African mountaineer Sibusiso Vilane and Richard Mabaso, CEO of the Ibumba Foundation. In 2003 Vilane became the first black person in the world to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He now leads the Trek4Mandela climbs to raise funds for the Ibumba Foundation’s Caring4Girls programme, providing support and sanitary products for young Africans who need them.
The annual climb is a reminder of the gruelling obstacles that Africans face across the continent.
Last year, Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, climbed Kilimanjaro with his son, Tshego, who was 10 at the time. They were joined by South African news anchor, Cathy Mohlahlana, who said that the fact that young people in South Africa and across Africa miss school because they’re menstruating points to the extent of inequality we still face, how much work remains to be done.
This year, the expedition team is aiming to summit mount Kilimanjaro on the 18th of July, Madiba’s birthday, to celebrate 10 years of Nelson Mandela International Day and to usher in Mandela Day: The Next Chapter, the next 10 years of Mandela Day.