Nelson Mandela Foundation

An intrepid team of celebrities and businesspeople from South Africa will summit Mount Kilimanjaro on Mandela Day, 18 July 2015, to raise funds and awareness for the Caring4Girls initiative.

A programme founded by Richard Mabaso and the Imbumba Foundation, Caring4Girls aims to provide much-needed support to schoolgirls living in impoverished South African communities.

It is estimated that girls from marginalised backgrounds miss up to 50 days of school a year due to menstrual challenges. This is from not having access to sanitary pads, and also not receiving adequate care and guidance when going through puberty.

The 2015 Trek4Mandela goal is to support 270 000 girls with sanitary pads and personal hygiene advice for a year, ensuring their access to education is not disrupted at this key point in their schooling careers. Every donation helps our teams realise this goal, and in line with Madiba’s vision, helps ensure that everyone in South Africa has access to education.

“I overheard an uncomfortable conversation between my mom and my niece, where they discussed the problems my niece faced every month – she didn’t have access to sanitary towels. I couldn’t believe what I heard – she would have to miss school a few days every month and stay home because she had, physically, become a woman,” says Mabaso.

That conversation inspired him to make a change.

Mabaso decided to do all he could to help his niece, and to grow awareness about the plight so many other girls in impoverished communities face every month.

Celebrities and businesspeople taking part in the 2015 Trek4Mandela climb include rapper and recording artist ProVerb, radio personality Penny Lebyane, actor Jack Devnarain, Nelson Mandela’s great-grandson Luvuyo Mandela and social entrepreneur Pat Pillai. They will be led by seasoned mountaineer and South Africa’s Chief Scout, Sibusiso Vilane, who has summited Kilimanjaro 14 times. 

Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang will also take part in the climb. He says the support shown for the initiative thus far has been tremendous, but asserts there is much work to be done.

“We have to ensure that our girls get the maximum support they can in order to be able to go to school. We cannot afford to have people who failed to go to school because of a need that is so basic, that we could have fulfilled,” says Hatang.

You can support the ambassadors in reaching their fundraising goal by SMSing “Girlchild” to 42513 and pledging R30. Alternatively, you can join the climbers in their quest to summit Kilimanjaro on Mandela Day.

Visit the Trek4Mandela website for details, or email Nkateko Mabale at nkatekom@nelsonmandela.org