A climb for smiles
PARKTOWN - A group of 17 medical students from the Wits Surgical Society have embarked on conquering mount Kilimanjaro in support of the Smile Foundation.
The group has raised about R680 000, an impressive amount by anyone’s account. Project leader Graeme Moore explained that at the beginning of the year, when the Wits Student’s Surgical Society brainstormed for ideas on how best to raise money for the Smile Foundation, they decided to take on climbing Kilimanjaro, a substantially more ambitious project than other fundraising endeavours undertaken in the past.
“We choose Kilimanjaro because of its ambitious nature, and the support has been great,” said Moore. He explained that after months of
planning, fundraising officially started in April, and the students who have been included in the group have all individually raised a minimum of R10 000 each.
The team will be led by experienced mountaineer Sean Disney. “This will be Sean’s 20th summit, [although the group] are all of different fitness levels, we all helped each other train and organised hikes throughout the year. Our plan is to summit on 26 November, as medical students we all know the risks involved, but we are hoping that we will all get to the top, ” said Moore.
The Smile Foundation is a non-governmental organisation with a holistic healthcare vision for children with facial deformities.
Hedley Lewis, executive director of finance and funding at the Smile Foundation, noted the extraordinary achievement in terms of funds raised by the group of students, noting that the initiative encouraged a tremendous amount of support from corporate and individual donors.
“It’s incredible that the students are looking towards what the future will bring, this will make a huge difference in [the lives of the foundation’s beneficiaries]” said Hedley.
The Kilimanjaro climb will take place from 21 to 28 November.
Details: www.smilefoundationsa.org
