Bonni to climb Kili for charity

DURBAN North resident, Bonni Suckling, has set herself three challenges this year, all in an effort to raise cancer awareness and funds for the her NGO, Rainbows and Smiles. Not only will she climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands at 19 341 feet, in February, but she will also be taking part in the Ironman African Championships in Port Elizabeth in March and then she will finish off with the Comrades Marathon in May.

What’s more, just two days before the climb, Bonni will also be running the Kilimanjaro Marathon.

In 2008, Suckling’s world was rocked with the news that her son, Jed, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Doctors told her that Jed, who was four years old at the time, had just months to live. After three major brain operations, 35 sessions of radiation and experimental chemotherapy, he passed away just three years later in his mother’s arms.

Overwhelmed with grief, Bonni spent months soul-searching and healing. After a suicide attempt, she lay in an ICU ward and made the fateful decision to turn her pain into power and do something positive to honour her son’s life. Jed’s journey inspired her to start Rainbows and Smiles, which provides emotional, social and financial support to families and caregivers in need when a child of that family is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer.

“My childhood friend, Glenn Ambrose, suggested climbing Kilimanjaro, and I didn’t hesitate saying yes. As I began thinking of the climb, I came up with a plan to begin something called the Trifinity Challenge, which would incorporate three major events, and use them to raise funds for Rainbows and Smiles.

“We’ll be climbing Kilimanjaro with 40 kilograms split between us, which was Jed’s body weight when he passed away,” she explained.

She added there was significance of calling her fundraising efforts the Trifinity Challenge.

“Jed’s favourite thing was Buzz Lightyear and his catch phrase was ‘To inifinity and beyond’, and I decided to incorporate it into this challenge. With every event where I’ve been pushed to extremes and I feel like I can’t continue, I draw strength from my son and I see the visions of the children who depend on me and I draw strength and determination from their struggles. I’m hoping the North Durban community will get behind me and support my efforts,” she said.

If you would like to learn more or donate to Bonni’s cause, visit www.rainbowsandsmiles.org.za.