Braving mountains for education

TWO friends, Khayelitsha entrepreneur Mandisi Peter and writer Miriam Mannak, are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya to raise money to educate young girls.

The two managed to raise R40 000 to give girls from Khayelitsha access to safe, quality and affordable education at Molo Mhlaba.

The private, bilingual girls’ school, founded by Dr Rethabile Sonibare, opened its doors last year and focuses on teaching young girls innovation, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (iSTEAM).

Sonibare said the funds raised would be used to pay for the tuition of at least girls at Molo Mhlaba.

“Our curriculum is in English and isiXhosa and includes Lego robotics, an introduction to computers, the internet and coding, as well as yoga and mindfulness.

“We want to debunk the myth that one can’t have quality education in South Africa’s townships.”

Peter said: “Young girls from communities like mine have to climb mountains every day to get ahead.

“This shouldn’t be the case. Obviously, we hope to raise more than R50 000 so we can give bursaries to more girls.”

Mannak said:“When I heard Mandisi was climbing Kili to raise funds for girls’ education in Khayelitsha – right around the time of my Mount Kenya hike – it was a no-brainer to join hands.

“Schoolgirls shouldn’t be climbing mountains to get ahead. Let us adults do that for them.”

To find out more about Peter and Mannak’s hike, see www.backabuddy. co.za/champion/project/scaling-kili.