WHILE some people were still coming to terms with their new year’s resolutions, 17-year-old Cebile Fakude of Mpumazi High School outside eShowe saw a dream come true as she took on Mt Kenya.
Run by Children of the Dawn, the programme ‘Can I Climb a Mountain?’ saw as its second phase, four pupils under its care summit the 5 199m mountain.
Cebile, accompanied by caregivers, was one of four Children of the Dawn youngsters who left for Kenya on Monday, 29 January.
They started the five-day hike on 31 January and summitted on Thursday, 4 February.
Twitter was abuzz with news of the team reaching their goal.
The long road to Mt Kenya began for Cebile when she won the best essay and motivational letter exercise and convinced the judges as to why she should be given the opportunity to climb Mt Kenya.
This was followed by intense hiking training sessions during which quitting was not an option.
Determination and discipline saw Cebile make it to the top.
One of 172 children cared for by Children of the Dawn in Mpumazi, she can now scratch Mount Kenya off her bucket list.
Other pupils of the Children of the Dawn programme with Cebile were Johannes (17) from Lenyenye in Limpopo, Phomello (17) from Qwaqwa in the Free State and Sphesihle (17) from Ermelo in Mpumalanga.
