On the 18th of July Chief Scout Sibusiso Vilane summited Kilimanjaro for the 18th time. The Chief of the South African Scouting Movement summited the highest peak on the African continent in a bid to raise funds for ‘Track 4 Mandela’ an initiative of the Imbumba Foundation, a charity that strives to support girls in poor rural communities.
“In our country many girls who live in very poor circumstances miss school on a monthly basis as they do not have access to sanitary towels”, he explains. “In 2012 I was approached by an old friend of mine, Richard Mabaso, to support him in raising funds to purchase packets of sanitary towels that can be handed out for free so that girls do not miss out on school. Education is very important and I really want to empower girls to embrace their own futures and seize the opportunity of being educated. Our aim was to summit Kilimanjaro on Mandela Day and raise funds to purchase 67 000 packets of sanitary towels. In reality we raised over 100 000 packets, so I am very grateful.”
As for the Kilimanjaro climb itself, it seems that the adventurous mountaineer had a blast! “There were ten people in our expedition and it took us 6 days from entering the gate to summit and return down. We took the less travelled route and it was a terrific climb! The weather was lovely, the enthusiasm in the group was good, I had fun with a purpose and did my best to serve, like a good Scout should,” he chuckles.
Chief Scout Sibusiso Vilane will be running the Cape Town Marathon in September 2014 to raise funds for SCOUTS South Africa.
SCOUTS South Africa is an independent, non-profit educational Movement dedicated to the development of young people in achieving their full potential as individuals and responsible citizens. Central in this programme is a continuous transference of values such as honesty, loyalty, responsibility, respect; all aimed at governing individual behaviour and the development of strong leadership skills that will equip members to be of service to others and to their communities. To join SCOUTS South Africa go to ‘Scouts near you’ on www.scouts.org.za.
More information: Natasha Kayle, SCOUTS South Africa PR Manager: pr@scouting.org.za
