This was the confession of the Ekurhuleni Trek4Mandela Challenge team which, on July 16, entered the third day of their expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in honour of former president, Nelson Mandela.
This was done to depict the journey of endurance and resilience he travelled.
The team, which included Richard Mabaso and Joshua Awesome, was led by experienced mountaineer Sibusiso Vilane. They reached Horombo Hut (3 720 metres above sea level) on July 15 after a six-hour walk. The team described the first part of the walk as a “steep ascent through forest”. However, the path soon opened out into moorland and, in clear weather, there were great views of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks.
The team then proceeded towards the Mawenzi hut and past the Zebra Rocks. They spent an extra day and night at Horombo for additional acclimatisation. The team had to drink enough water and walk slowly.
Joshua said that besides raising funds and awareness towards identified projects, inherent in the trek are lessons in leadership.
He defined day two (July 15) as projecting the leadership qualities of being positive and expectant and day three (Tuesday), as indicative of a leadership quality that focuses on people.
Sibusio said that the leadership quality that focuses on people was important to reflect on because former President Nelson Mandela’s selfless life was centred on the plight of the people.
“Daily success further up Kilimanjaro became possible, simply by the support the team members gave to each other by carrying bags, unpacking and packing the tents, cooking, cleaning and serving every day. Supporting someone, somewhere, somehow will let you in some way summit successfully,” said Sibusiso.
The Trek4Mandela challenge was aimed at raising funds to sponsor 500 underprivileged school girls who live in the areas of Winnie Mandela and Zonkezizwe in Ekurhuleni with a year’s supply of sanitary towels. The sanitary towels will come with complete hygiene kits and educational manuals.
The City of Ekurhuleni rolled out a Youth Leadership Development programme as part of their 67 Minutes for Mandela project.
The team reached the peak of Africa’s tallest mountain on Madiba’s birthday, July 18.
For more information on the City’s International Nelson Mandela Day programme, including the Trek4Mandela Challenge, visit www.ekurhuleni.gov.za or follow them on twitter at @EMMInfo or on Facebook.
