Johannesburg - After a year of successful expeditions aimed at raising funds for the Caring4Girls campaign, the Imbumba Foundation launched an interesting Trek4Mandela 2024 Unity in Diversity Expedition.
The initiative is a beacon of hope in providing some relief to schoolgirls from destitute backgrounds, and has offered them the opportunity to continue their education without the restraint of hygiene risks, discomfort, embarrassment, or the loss of dignity.
Expedition leader, mountaineer, and adventurer Sibusiso Vilane speaks about the launch and what sparked his interest in joining the initiative.
"We are launching the Trek4Mandela 2024 expeditions. This is the 11th year since we started in 2012. It is important because it makes us look forward to next year. After all, we just finished a year that I would say was successful. And the fact that we had people at the summit. I think I led 19 people in July and August to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. And we’ve raised the necessary resources and made sure a girl child stays in school during her period.
"So it is exciting that we have next year where we're trying to challenge ourselves to be climbing all the other routes," he said.
"I was listening to the radio one morning when I heard a girl child talk about the embarrassment they face when they experience their periods for the first time, and boys laugh at them. And which then makes them not want to go to school because they do not have the resources. And a week later, Richard came and asked me to help him do his first one," said Vilane.
Twenty-one-year-old final-year LLB student at the University of Zululand, Cebolenkosi Ntshingila, also addressed the chamber about her involvement with the Imbumba Foundation and what it means to her to support the Caring4Girls initiative.
Ntshingila said she has been at the forefront of organisations that empower women.
"I am in leadership positions at school, especially in organisations with women. The Caring4Girls initiative deals with young girls who hail from rural areas. And that is where I grew up. So it really sparked my attention, and it aligned with my mission through all these organisations. We are fighting for women to be recognised not only by the Constitution or the law, but also for just being women. So it really aligned with me."
"I would like to encourage other women to be part of this subject because, as it was said, we face this situation once a month as women, and it is often unbearable because others do not have access to sanitary towels. As a result, others do not go to school. So it is important that everyone is involved in changing the experience," she said.
The Star