Deaf to conquer Kilimanjaro
MELROSE – A team of four will climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in October, to raise funds for St Vincent School for the Deaf and bring more awareness about deaf education.
Situated south of the Equator in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on the continent at 5 895m; it is also the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Bianca Schulte, a sky-diving and bungee-jumping junkie; Winners Shishenge, deputy principal at the school; Terence Parkin, Olympic silver-medallist swimmer and sports coach at the school; and David Batzofin, a radio talk show host, will leave the country on 3 October. They are scheduled to begin the ascent on 5 October.
The challenge began as an idea from Batzofin who had summited Kilimanjaro in 2006, on a mission to raise funds for Wits Hospice. Principal at the school, Ingrid Parkin seized the idea and identified an opportunity to raise much-needed funds for the school.
The slogan for the challenge is ‘Onward and Upward towards no limits for Deaf Education.’ The school’s creative arts, visual arts and design teacher, Lauren Brammall, who designed the logo for the challenge said, “I find that the slogan used for this challenge totally summarises the heart of the staff,” she said.
In his state of the nation address in February, Jacob Zuma announced that a South African Sign Language curriculum would be implemented in schools from next year. There are also plans to make sign language the 12th official language in the country. Shishenge, who has been with the school for 14 years, said he was very excited about these plans.
Speaking through an interpreter, Terence, who is Ingrid’s husband, said he was looking forward to the challenge. He is also the most successful athlete at the Deaflympics, with a whopping 34 medals.
The school is welcoming contributions from companies or individuals to support the challenge.
Details: www.stvincentschool.org.za or 011 788 5430
