Sibusiso Vilane and Saray Khumalo to set Mount Everest records for Charity

In April 2014, two South African mountaineers, Sibusiso Vilane and Saray Khumalo will climb Mount Everest in the Himalayas in an attempt to break records and raise money for the Nelson Mandela Bangle Library Initiative and The Lunchbox Fund.

South Africa’s ‘’chief mountaineer’’ and brand ambassador for Isuzu, Sibusiso Vilane will attempt to climb without the assistance of supplementary oxygen, while Khumalo will strive to achieve her dream to become the first black African woman to summit Everest. If Vilane succeeds, he will set the record for the highest African man in history on Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen. At above 8000m the vast majority of climbers use supplementary oxygen to simply stay alive let alone summit, very few climbers attempt Everest without supplementary oxygen and even fewer succeed.

Saray, a Discovery Vitality employee, has successfully climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and now has her eyes set on conquering the Seven Summits Challenge on each continent. Sibusiso has already done the Seven Summits Challenge on each continent and will be providing guidance to Khumalo during this expedition. Both Discovery and Isuzu South Africa are sponsoring these avid mountaineers’ venture and simultaneously raising funds for the Nelson Mandela Bangle Library Initiative and the Lunchbox Fund.

The driving force behind Sibusiso and Saray’s attempt is not personal glory but rather making a positive impact in the lives of young South Africans. Education is a subject close to the hearts of these two mountaineers, who believe in the value of education, which has the capacity to impact positively on the lives of many young South Africans.  Sibusiso is climbing in aid of the Mandela Day Library Initiative and for every R195 000 generated through public donations one container library can be built and placed at a school. "The future entirely depends on the education of children, their access to information to broaden their thinking and understanding of the ever-changing and challenging world.” says Sibusiso.

Saray who has already raised R130 000 for The Lunchbox Fund, is aiming to raise a total of R1 million.  “This is by far the most exciting and possibly, life changing expedition for me as an individual,” says Saray, who is looking forward to the challenge and has been training for this climb over the past 12 months. “I really hope that I will be able to make a difference to the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children through promoting and encouraging healthy eating at their schools.”

“Discovery is proud to sponsor Saray, a woman who embodies Discovery’s values of liberating the best in people,” says Discovery’s Head of HR, Penny Tlhabi. “This is a fantastic way for one of our employees to be a living example of how Discovery is a force for social good and uplifting the South African society,” she says.  

Mlungisi Nonkonyana, Isuzu South Africa Brand Manager points out that “Sibusiso is the brand ambassador for the Isuzu brand in South Africa and we are therefore very proud to back Sibusiso on this quest. Once again, this expedition totally embodies Isuzu’s you know you can spirit.”

Notes to Editors:

To help Sibusiso build a library, you can make a donation to the Mandela Bangle Library Initiative at http://www.participateforgood.com/projects/mt-everest-with-isuzu-and-discovery-sibusiso-vilane

Follow Sibusiso Vilane’s journey on Twitter: @sibueverest

The Lunchbox Fund is an 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. People who want to support Saray’s campaign can donate funds through the Love to Do Good website at https://lovetodogood.org.za/campaign/ubuntu-everestor 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.

Follow Saray Khumalo’s journey on Twitter: @UbuntuEverest and read her blog: http://saraykposts.tumblr.com/ .