Local women to climb highest peak in SA
The Woman of Stature Foundation has partnered with Saray Khumalo who is also the founder of Summits With A Purpose to raise funds for the Woman of Stature Foundation, Woman Rise programmes.
Thursday, August 5 saw 13 ladies led by Weltevreden Park resident Saray Khumalo meet at Town Square Shopping Centre ahead of their quest to climb the highest peak in South Africa for National Women’s Day.
Saray is a South African explorer, mountaineer, a Guinness World Record-holder, motivational speaker and executive coach.
The Woman of Stature Foundation has partnered with Saray who is also the founder of Summits With A Purpose to raise funds for the Woman of Stature Foundation, Woman Rise programmes.
These programmes aim at providing and promoting financial independence and holistic well-being for businesswomen facing challenges due to anticipated or unanticipated economic changes.
With 15 women supporting the Woman of Stature Foundation, she will be embarking on a 65km summit to the Mafadi Peak in the Drakensberg to commemorate National Women’s Day and Month.
“It is for this reason that the Woman of Stature Foundation created the Woman Rise Programmes designed to provide practical offerings to those who suffered loss of income.
“This summit is a fundraising initiative that will contribute immensely to the livelihoods of businesswomen in our network.
“Most of the women on this hike will be taking on this challenge to summit for the first time in their lives.
“It is such an inspiration to see them face their fears and doing it anyway with courage and zeal. Having Saray in the lead and guiding them with her wealth of experience is such an honour and relief, knowing they will be in good hands,” said Charlotte du Plessis, founder and CEO of Woman of Stature Foundation.
The hike will take place from August 6 to 9, and the climb will take four days and three nights, with inspiring storytelling sessions in between by Saray from her experiences of climbing Mount Everest, the Himalayas and other trails less travelled.
“Today I am taking a group of women from Woman of Stature Foundation. We are going to climb Mafadi Peak in the Drakensberg, and we’re doing it for Women’s Month.
“This is empowering the women as some have never hiked, so for the past two months I’ve been hiking with them every weekend and helping them train.
“This is just empowering, taking the power back and using it to raise money for the forgotten women of Covid-19, which is an initiative that Woman of Stature Foundation supports,” said Saray.
On May 16, 2019, she became the first black African woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Saray is also the winner of the Woman of Stature: Women in Sport Award for 2020, and she will be leading the convoy on August 5 as they leave Johannesburg, driving down to Injisuthi in the central Drakensberg region, and ushering hikers to the rooftop of South Africa.
Among the climbers will be Sibusiso Vilane, speaker and mountaineer who has summitted Mt Kilimanjaro 28 times and Mount Everest three times, and Wendy Alberts, CEO of Restaurants Association of South Africa (RASA).
Members of the community who would like to support Woman of Stature Foundation and participate in the programme as a sponsor are advised to contact Woman of Stature at foundation@womanofstature.co.za or call Charlotte du Plessis on 082 553 0061.
