Eight brave members of the Wits Students’ Surgical Society will be participating in the Kilimanjaro Challenge for the Smile Foundation to give children with facial abnormalities corrective facial surgery.
“Even though we have some fears of not making it to the top, especially since the passing of Gugu Zulu and the thought of altitude sickness, we know that there is no one more deserving than children. This is something happy and joyous for us because we are helping the children,” commented Geena Parker, one of the students who will climb Kilimanjaro.
Daniel von Hoesslin, Ryan Hume, Spencer Probert, Geena Parker, Nicole Bruton, Emma Wessels, Shiraz Harypursat and Daniel Shahim, members from the society, will climb the mountain from 3 to 10 December.
“We have been training individually as well as a team to prepare ourselves for the climb. Some of us go on hikes to get used to some of the equipment. Also before everything we all underwent a health check-up to make sure we could all summit,” said Wessels, the project coordinator for the society.
Through sponsorship and donations, they are aiming to raise R750 000 for the Smile Foundation by summiting the 5 895m peak. According to Wessels, each member has had to fund themselves. Each member has to have R10 000 before they can summit. “Right now, our main aim is to raise funds for the foundation, so if there is anyone who would like to help the cause, please contact us.
“Every small donation will help in a big way. Also, if there is anyone who would like to sponsor a climber they can also contact me.” The society has had two climbers sponsored already.
Hume commented that being part of this is a great feeling as the members get to actually see where the funds are going because they will get to experience the corrective facial surgeries of some of the children from the Smile Foundation.
The initial Kilimanjaro Challenge in 2014, saw a group of 17 medical students from the society, raise R600 000 by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and participating in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge. This year, members of the society will also be participating in the cycle challenge to raise more funds.
Another enthusiastic member was Harypursat who said he would never have considered climbing the mountain, however, since it is a deserving cause and to give hope to children, it will be worth it.
Last year, the money Wits medical students raised allowed them to assist two children, who suffered from facial paralysis due to a nerve condition called moebius syndrome, undergo reconstructive surgery.
Von Hoesslin plans to make the climb a fun one and sharing the society’s experiences while climbing the mountain. “I am taking a drone to film us on our journey, people can also view it on YouTube to get a feel of the things we had to do,” he said.
The climbers will be taken up the mountain by Adventure Dynamic International.
