Holgate a man on a mission
Iconic storyteller, humanitarian and adventurer Kingsley Holgate and his intrepid expedition team spent some time in Hankey and Patensie at the weekend as they prepare to go beyond African shores, for the good of early education.
With their inspiring “Africa & Beyond” adventure – from Cape Town to Kathmandu – the humanitarian work for which the Kingsley Holgate Foundation is well known continues with another initiative feather in its widely-travelled cap.
It will benefit the Early Childhood Development (ECD) project – sponsored by Durban company Barrows – which prints educational material for youngsters between the ages of one and six.
The resources for poorly equipped community creches are then distributed to ensure vital learning scopes can be covered.
The Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition kicked off on Wednesday – Mandela Day – at the V&A Waterfront with the collection of seawater from the harbour basin.
This was followed by the signing of the expedition’s new Madiba 100 Scroll of Peace and Goodwill which documents previous expeditions and carries messages of support.
The team, who are travelling in two specially kitted out expedition Land Rover Discovery vehicles and a third Defender, will make their way through 19 countries, travelling more than 17,000km from Africa, into the east of Europe and then onto Asia, eventually arriving at their destination in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.
On arrival at the Baviaanskloof on Friday evening, Holgate, 72, told stories of previous expeditions with great animation around a campfire.
Speaking about the latest
The humanitarian work for which the foundation is well known continues
expedition, he said: “It is with some trepidation. We are a little nervous to be taking off to foreign lands beyond Africa, but we have spent the last 30 years doing every single country on the African continent, doing all her islands.
“This expedition had us thinking, what better way to celebrate Land Rover’s 70th year and 100 years of Madiba than to take off and do a world-first for Land Rover – Cape Town to Kathmandu?
“Using adventure to im- prove lives is our byline and all the humanitarian work we will be doing along the way will continue, using the energy to do good,” Holgate said.
Barrows creative director Ian Gourley, 47, who started the ECD project about 18 months ago, said after realising that the material they print for big businesses had blank spaces which could be put to good use, they decided to print material for ECDs around the country.
“We have produced more than 700,000 pieces of material, we have reached close to 500,000 children already, and we are continuing it.
“We decided to integrate with this specific Holgate expedition, despite Barrows being involved with the foundation for about 20 years, because it is so unique,” he said.
Gourley said their work started due to the global travesty ECDs face and the lack of awareness people carry with regards to the fundamental learning areas it has to offer.
“The focus is primarily in early learning – 90% of a child’s neurological pathways are formed in the first six years of life and the government currently spends less than 1% of its funds on this level of education,” he said.
“We are trying to raise awareness on this expedition so that when you do stop someone in the street they know what ECD is. I think education is what is going to take a lot of people out of poverty in this country. What these kids are learning will show dividends later on in their lives,” Gourley said.
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation’s other initiatives included Mashozi’s Rite to Sight eye-testing and distribution of reading glasses to poor-sighted people at the Masakhane Clinic in Hankey.
Rhino Art EC also had a colouring-in competition for children, and there was a 20minute-a-side conservationthemed soccer match to end off the day.