SEACOM staff to join TREK4MANDELA to the top of Kilimanjaro

A team of SEACOM staff members will join this year’s TREK4MANDELA climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in support of the Caring4Girls initiative. The annual TREK4MANDELA raises funds and awareness for the Imbumba Foundation’s Caring4Girls programme, which provides sanitary care for underprivileged girls across South Africa.

SEACOM, Africa’s leading data communications enabler, is supporting to help communities in South Africa to prosper by improving access to the internet and boosting education in the country. The cause is an important one: research shows that girls from marginalised backgrounds could miss up to 50 days of school each year unnecessarily due to menstrual challenges.

SEACOM climbers

Six people from SEACOM will begin the climb on 13 July and should reach the summit on 18 July (Mandela Day). The SEACOM staff members taking part are Suveer Ramdhani – Chief Development Officer; Albie Bester – Global Head of Cloud & Hosted Services; Lizaan De Jongh – Channel Account Manager; Kelly Crofton – Head of Service Operations; Carmen Cupido – Regional Counsel; and Sibusiso Khanye – Credit Control Manager.

Caring4Girls was founded by Richard Mabaso and has, over the years, provided sanitary towels to thousands of girls, in turn helping them to feel confident to participate in school every day. SEACOM’s climbers are committed to help keep 1,267 girls at Aurora Girls High in Jabulani, Soweto, in school by supplying each of them a year’s supply of sanitary towels.

Aurora Girls High

SEACOM CEO, Byron Clatterbuck had this to say: “SEACOM is embarking on this journey to help change the lives of many young girls in South Africa and other African countries through its support of education. Making sure everyone has what they need to attend school regularly is a part of that. This in turn helps SEACOM to build a lasting, successful relationship with the school and its vibrant learners. We believe deeply in the power of education to transform peoples’ lives and uplift them to prosperity, so we are pleased to be taking part in this programme.”

The venture also forms part of SEACOM’s Foundation Day celebrations on 23 July. Each year, the company celebrates the anniversary of its commercial launch by spending time with – and providing support to – local communities in the African countries where it has a direct presence.