Meg Harvey has never been afraid of going the extra mile for animals.

Weeks before turning 40, the Society for Animals in Distress (SAID) chief executive officer climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for animals in impoverished communities.

Also, rather than receiving birthday gifts from family and friends, Harvey asked them to donate towards Said, turning a personal milestone into a fundraising campaign.

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“I feel like, at 40, I’ve got everything I need, so, instead of asking or getting presents from my family and friends, I asked them rather to donate money to the society.”

The climb was anything but easy. “It was amazing, but it was tough. I actually got sick on summit night. I got acute mountain sickness, but I persevered and I got to the top of Africa.”

For Harvey, the gruelling climb was a small sacrifice, compared with what many animals and people endure every day. “It was a sacrifice I was willing to make to get my message out there that animals really need us.”

Her fundraising campaign has a target of R500 000, and has so far raised close to R200 000.

The campaign will run until the end of September, with the money earmarked for a new vehicle that will allow Said to take its mobile clinic into impoverished areas and treat animals where they live.

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The Kilimanjaro expedition was supported by five other climbers who also raised money for Said, as well as a Tanzanian climbing team and guide Sean Disney, from Adventure Dynamics.

Back home, Harvey said, her team and Said supporters followed and encouraged her throughout the journey. The mountain challenge comes as Said hosts its annual golf day on August 20, its biggest fundraiser of the year, with the organisation hoping to raise much-needed funds to continue its work in communities where access to veterinary care is limited.

For Harvey, the cause is deeply personal. She grew up neurodivergent and said she struggled to make friends as a child without understanding why.

Animals, however, were a constant source of acceptance. “They never judged me. They always accepted me for who I am.”

Today, she has three cats, a dog, and a donkey of her own, but her connection with animals has grown beyond simply caring for pets.

Harvey believes protecting animals can also help build a more compassionate and safer society, pointing to the link between cruelty towards animals and cruelty against humans.

“If we protect these creatures and if we engender empathy into people, we’re going to have a much safer country.”

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