Four intrepid Highbury moms, Bridget Young, Susan McGill, Helen Brent and Jane Combrink, took on the exciting but daunting task of conquering Mount Kilimanjaro on behalf of The Ladybird Foundation, raising an amazing R27 000 for TRIAD and Fulton School for the Deaf.
On 9 February the four moms visited TRIAD, a school for special needs children in Pinetown, for a tour of the school and to donate R15 000 of the funds raised towards the renovation of the swimming pool, which assists them in their therapy programme. The remaining funds will go to the Sponsor-a-Child Project at Fulton School for the Deaf.
The Ladybird Foundation was founded in 2013 by Bridget Young, and is a non-profit organisation which raises funds for specific projects within organisations and schools which cater for special needs children.
After an earlier visit to TRIAD, Bridget recognised a huge need for assistance with fundraising projects within the school.
“They had already put into action the much-needed therapy room and specialised equipment from their very successful Golf Day, but the garden, boundary wall, retaining wall and swimming pool still needed attention.”
Bridget came up with the idea to climb Kilimanjaro to raise funds, and got some of the other Highbury moms on board.
“It has always been on my bucket list, and after chatting to a few mums at the school the others decided to join me, so it became a ladies’ group, and once we were committed we started training together.”
The team embarked on Boot Camp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with Karen Meintjes, an experienced high altitude endurance athlete, and hiked three to four hours through the bush and cane fields around Hillcrest and Kloof on Tuesdays and Thursdays to prepare for their exciting journey ahead.
The ladies chose to do the seven-day Machame route, a breathtakingly beautiful but also physically demanding endeavour. They began their climb on 26 September and summited on 1 October at 8.30am at Uhuru Peak, after setting off from base camp at midnight.
“As none of us ladies are experienced hikers or climbers it was a new and challenging experience for all of us. It was a true test of courage and stamina. It was about overcoming difficulties, sometimes fear, often fatigue and most of the time shear physical exhaustion and effects of altitude. We laughed, we cried, we prayed, we shivered and we celebrated together,” explained Bridget.
Having endured rain, extreme heat, snow and intense climbing, reaching the Uhuru Peak Summit was both exhilarating and emotional for the group.
Jane said, “It was definitely harder than we expected. It was both mentally and physically exhausting and incredibly steep in places.”
Helen added, “We had to just keep going, putting one foot in front of the other. When I had had enough there was always someone there to help push me from behind.”
Overcoming the challenges faced on Kilimanjaro was symbolic of the challenges and difficulties that special needs children and their families face every day of their lives.
“They learn to overcome them: sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s easier, but they have to get through it. They rely on each other, their friends and family and organisations which care for their specific needs, and without the support and generosity of donors and sponsors many facilities would not be able to open their doors. That’s why we chose to climb Kilimanjaro to raise funds for such places,” said Bridget.
“We would like to express a huge thank you to our families and friends for their support and encouragement through the many months of training and preparation, and to our donors and sponsors who were able to make this trip possible. Our sincere thanks go to A2A Tours, Wild Frontiers, Hillcrest Pentravel and the Sumner Group as well as all the independent sponsors who made this project possible.”
Contact Bridget Young on 082 444 9224 or bridget@ladybirdfoundation.org if you would like to know more about The Ladybird Foundation.
