Making Mountains Metaphors

Kai at the summit of Mt Kenya

I am constantly amazed at the calibre of youth the new South Africa is producing - environmentally aware, socially responsible and enthusiastic and motivated. Like our young friend, Kai Fitchen who at just 18 years of age has recently returned from a five-month trip from Cape Town to Kenya, ending with the summit of Mount Kenya.

Kai in conversation with local kids

The aims of the trip were to travel sustainably, raise awareness of environmental issues among school children, and to climb Mt Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa. 

Sustainable travel involved using public transport as far as possible - buses, taxis, trains and at times bicycles. Although he had some hair-raising experiences (drunk bus drivers, fights breaking out on trains) he found the public transport at least 90% reliable and was able to get there and back in one piece. 

washing hands - water sanitation program
in Malawi

In the various villages where he stopped he visited schools, engaging with children creatively, spending time outdoors and discussing the way environmental issues were personally affecting their lives. Living in a town like Livingstone with Victoria Falls as a background makes it easy to engage with nature. Deforestation is a very real problem for them and Kai had Greenpop (a social enterprise involved in urban greening and reforestation) as a support.  In Malawi, sanitation was the burning issue.

Mt Kenya, although not quite as high as the very popular Kilimanjaro, is technically a much more difficult climb. Added to that was the sleet, rock falls and cold winds to contend with while living on a diet of peanuts and bananas. But Kai describes the experience as "humbling, the best experience I have ever had...to see the potential in Southern Africa...". He is already talking about the next trip...what an inspiration!

For more about his trip, visit:

 KAPE 2 KENYA 2012

http://www.kape2kenya.com

http://greensparks-kai.blogspot.com/

Pictures are courtesy of Kai Fitchen

Olympic Moments

Last night my daughter and I cheered loudly for Oscar Pistorius. We knew that he didn’t stand a chance of doing well enough but we were proud of him. His bravery, determination and perseverance are inspirational and his fellow-runners as well as the crowd certainly acknowledged that.

I have been enjoying the proudly South African moments brought on by our performance in the Olympics in the past week. I last felt like this two years ago when we were in the grips of soccer fever. We all need the positive model of hard work and dedication which has been provided in bucket loads, not only by our swimmers and rowing team, but from all who have succeeded in representing their country at this gathering.

Cameron van der Burgh got us off to a good start with our first gold medal since the 2004 Olympics. The rowers paced themselves and gave it their all with a final push to surge into history. And then young Chad le Clos...what can I say?

I got all choked up as I watched his bottom lip quiver and his eyes fill with tears as he stood on the medal podium. And who was not moved by the image of his father mopping his face with the South African flag which he then covered his head and face with. Every parent must have an inkling of what he was feeling then. I wonder what it must feel like to be so young and then to beat your idol – where do you go from here?

Our lone medal winner from the last Olympics, Khotso Mokoena, failed to make it anywhere near the top three this time, but hey, he is still up there with the best in the world.

Caster Semenya’s parents are braving an airplane journey for the first time in their lives to watch their daughter represent her country. I’m looking forward to that.