By: Natasha Archary
Kaya Biz presenter, Gugulethu Mfuphi will be fulfilling her goal by taking on the challenge of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, when she joins the #Trek4Mandela next month.
To prepare the ambitious radio host, Richard Mabaso, Founder and Chief Executive of the Imbumba Foundation shares how Gugulethu’s love for hiking holds a greater purpose at heart.
Mabaso has himself completed 6 successful summits to Mount Kilimanjaro, and shares how the initiative raises funds, and creates awareness for the Caring4Girls programme.
The concept innovator of the #Trek4Mandela Expedition shares how girls from impoverished backgrounds miss up to 50-days of school every year, because of menstrual related challenges.
Mabaso, who was raised by a single mother, understands the hardship that these families face, and decided to launch the Imbumba Foundation in 2010 to make a positive difference in their lives.
“When I got to a point of starting the foundation, I needed to find what makes Imbumba different to other foundations. The ethos of Imbumba is literally the direct translation from isiZulu which means seed.
So, the aim of Imbumba is to plant a seed of hope by empowering individuals from different walks of life, in different communities, by enabling them to invest the little we do to help them become better and in turn, help others. There’s a multiply effect.”
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
Caring4Girls is the Foundation’s flagship programme which started at home, when Mabaso’s niece and his mom had a conversation about periods.
Richard Mabaso wanted to change the narrative that talking about periods in front of men is taboo, and wanted to be part of the conversation.
“It was difficult in the beginning to change the mindset of the rural village I grew up in. Going around, telling people we’re trying to collect sanitary pads, and being questioned, ‘but why?’
In 2012, I woke up and decided I’m going to climb Kilimanjaro and this is how #Trek4Mandela was born together with, Sibusiso Vilane.
Vilane is a motivational speaker and #Trek4Mandela exhibition leader who is the first black African to conquer the 3 Poles challenge.
This includes the South Pole, North Pole as well as the infamous, Mount Everest.”
To date Mabaso and Imbumba Foundation have taken 300 people on the #Trek4Mandela, and supported more than 2 million girls through Caring4Girls.
Gugulethu Mfuphi is so eager to tick summiting Mount Kilimanjaro off her bucket list, that she has been on a mission to summit peaks from Drakensburg to Armorgos.
That’s right, as the countdown to her exciting #Trek4Mandela looms, the Kaya Biz presenter enjoyed a hike in Greece to remind her of the challenge and initiative she’s embarking on.
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