South African Mint team joins Kilimanjaro Trek4Mandela expedition to raise
funds for Caring4Girls

The South African Mint will be taking part in this year’s Trek4Mandela challenge, a climb of over 5000km altitude up Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. This epic adventure aims to raise funds and create awareness for the Caring4Girls initiative, dedicated to helping keep girls in school by providing them with essential sanitary towels.

The Trek4Mandela expedition is in its fourth year and the climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro on the Uhuru peak up will summit on 18 July 2015, in celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day.

Joining the trek will be the South African Mint’s Managing Director Tumi Tsehlo, and Gawie Herholdt, Organisational Effectiveness Executive (HR). Says Tsehlo, “We are proud to be supporting and investing in an initiative of this kind. Caring4Girls will leave a long lasting legacy in schools in our communities.”

Founded in 2012, Caring4Girls is dedicated to assisting girls in South Africa who are forced to stay at home due to the lack of funds for the basic necessity of sanitary wear, during their monthly menstrual cycle. These girls miss up to 50 days of school annually due to lack of adequate sanitary protection. Caring4Girls aims to support as many girls as possible with sanitary pads, and give them back their dignity and freedom, and make them feel empowered.

Herholdt comments; “My motivation for this trip is to give rather than receive, helping raise funds through this experience. Caring4Girls is doing amazing work

and I am very proud to be part of this trek.”

The South African Mint first joined Trek4Mandela in 2015, after an invitation from the Nelson Mandela Foundation to participate. Dr Mike Gradwell (Manufacturing

Support & Development Executive) represented the Mint and conquered Mount Kilimanjaro. The organisation also sponsored a coffee table book with memories of

their climb and had 500 books printed to be sold to raise funds for the initiative.

This year, in addition to contributing the participation fee, the South African Mint has set itself the target of raising R500 000 towards this initiative. “We have set

ourselves a big target, but I am confident that with the public’s support, we can raise the funds needed for Caring4Girls”, says Tsehlo.

To support the initiative, members of the public are encouraged to send an SMS with the name “SAMint” to 42513 and pledge R30. Terms and conditions apply.