Glen Austin resident and avid climber Mpume Nyandu will be climbing Mount Everest as part of the Trek-4-IAMSK Everest Base Camp Challenge.
She will be departing on 17 April for the Everest Base Camp in order to raise funds for non-profit organisation I AM My Sisters’ Keeper (IAMSK), an organisation with the primary focus of partnering with life coaches and healthcare professional to assist incarcerated women and their babies.
To make the organisation’s goals a reality, the organisation launched a fundraising drive entitled ‘Everest Base Camp Trek-4-IAMSK Challenge’ which Nyandu joined.
She said, “In short, I will be trekking to Everest Base Camp to ensure that these women and their babies have one less mountain to climb.
“While I feel fit enough to tackle the challenge, I am a little nervous and excited at the same time. It will be my first attempt trekking to Everest Base Camp, 5 380 metres above sea level, and Kala Patthar at 5 643 metres above sea level. So naturally butterflies in the stomach are expected.”
Nyandu was also involved in the Trek4Mandela Kilimanjaro Challenge last year, which was to assist underprivileged girl who don’t have access to sanitary towels in partnership with the Caring4girl programme.
Her climbs have done a lot to assist programmes and organisations that strive to empower women and girls.
“A Chinese saying goes, ‘women hold up half the sky’, however, the reality is that while we hold up half the sky there are limited opportunities for women to define and influence the world they live in due to various social, political and economic limitations and hurdles placed before them.”
She added, “Overcoming these social, political and economic hurdles begins with ensuring that underprivileged women and women in desperate situations have access to basic education and needs.”
Nyandu’s climb of Mount Everest will take place from 17 April to 4 May.
Details: Mpume Nyandu nfnyandu@gmail.com
