Saray Khumalo reaches base camp before starting her ascent to the top of Mount Everest

Saray Khumalo, Discovery Vitality Divisional Manager, reached the Everest Base Camp in Khumbu, Nepal on Tuesday, 15 April. She will now start, from Saturday, 19 April her challenging 5 364m ascent up from base camp to the summit of Mount Everest with her climbing partner, Sibusiso Vilane, who is South Africa’s “chief mountaineer.”

Saray, who aspires to become the first black African woman to summit Mount Everest, is determined to climb Everest, which at 8 848m high, is the world’s highest mountain above sea level, to make a difference in the lives of young South Africans, especially these of preschool age during her Ubuntu Everest campaign. She is climbing Everest to raise funds for The Lunchbox Fund, which is a non-governmental organisation that focuses on ensuring to highlight the importance of education through promoting healthy eating by providing daily meals for orphaned and vulnerable children living in South Africa’s townships and rural areas.

To date, Saray has raised R149 972 for The Lunchbox Fund through her Ubuntu Everest campaign, and she is aiming at a total of R1 million in funds, which will provide 2 000 children with one hot meal every day for a year.

According to statistics, 65% of all South African children fall below the breadline, and 12 million of these children need to be fed every day. While the government’s feeding scheme has a capacity to feed 8 million of these children, this means that four million children are falling through the gaps, and do not receive an adequate meal to ensure that they grow in healthy children.

The Lunchbox Fund focuses on providing meals to these children so they can concentrate at school. For many of these children, a lunchbox meal is often the only meal they eat for the day. People who donate funds to the organisation are able to, with R2.50, provide a child with one hot meal on one school day, and with R500, provide a child with one hot meal each day on each school day for the duration of the school year.

Support Saray’s dream to raise R1 million which will see more young South African children receive a hot meal every day, and have a fighting chance at school. People who want to support Saray’s campaign can donate funds to her Ubuntu Everest campaign through the Love to Do Good website at https://lovetodogood.org.za/campaign/ubuntu-everest or via The Lunchbox Fund at http://www.thelunchboxfund.org/donate.html and use the following reference Ubuntu-your name e.g. Ubuntu-Saraykhumalo.

Donors can donate funds in the following ways:

·  Feed a child for a month with a R50 contribution,

·  Feed a child for six months with a R250 contribution, and

·  Feed a child for a year with a R500 contribution.

Twitter: @UbuntuEverest and read her blog: http://saraykposts.tumblr.com/

For more information about Saray Khumalo’s Ubuntu Everest expedition, please contact:

Thulaganyo Khensani Mthombeni

Reputation Management Consultant

Tel: +27 (0) 11 529 0091

Mobile: +27 (0) 71 886 9188

E-mail: Khensanimth@discovery.co.za