Illovo Sugar Africa - News

Seventeen of our employees from across our 8 countries of operation, 6 of which are in Africa, are on the expedition of a lifetime as they prepare to climb the continent’s highest peak, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro on the 18th of July 2024, International Nelson Mandela Day. It marks the occasion of a first-ever expedition of its kind conceived and executed by Illovo Sugar Africa, inspired by the spirit of “Tata Madiba” – a true champion of diversity who recognised our differences as a source of richness and resilience, rather than division.

Tackling the continent’s tallest peak doesn’t come without considerable support, physical training, mental preparedness and the provision of comfortable, dedicated climbing kit. Having recently assembled in Durban, the team – and under the auspices of the Trek4Mandela professionals - wasted no time in getting to know each other, participating in a team building day including a group Lumina session to help improve communication, teamwork and leadership skills within the team and also undertaking a three-day training hike within the Monks Cowl area of the South African Drakensberg. This has helped everyone to acclimatise to the rigours of long days on the hike and to test out their new climbing kit which includes everything from hiking boots and trousers, thermal vests and sun hats to summit jackets, warm gloves and so on.

Now back at their home bases, time now is being spent by our climbers focused on Kili-dedicated training and conditioning programmes, which in addition to virtual support and monitoring, includes daily runs, walks and stair climbing, together with an ongoing gym programme of weights, cycling and general conditioning. Weekly reports back to Trek4 Mandela’s training team are mandatory and outside of that, much time will be spent on continuing to develop mental ‘grit’ and of course, staying healthy.

Risk mitigation measures, personal safety and medical readiness are an extremely important part of this expedition, as are medical support and the presence of trained guides along the hike and a realistic hiking pace to aid altitude conditioning as the summit gets closer. All of the hikers will arrive in Tanzania on 11 July and will commence the climb on the 13th to summit on the 18th - immediately thereafter commencing their decent to arrive at base camp the next day.

“Unity in Diversity” is a phrase that mirrors the wide-spread and diverse nature of our operating locations and people on three continents. It’s also the adopted theme of the 2024 Trek4Mandela expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro which was established by the Imbumba Foundation in 2012 to annually raise funding for the Foundation’s Caring4Girls programme whose mission is to provide access to menstrual products for girls in some of Africa’s poorest countries.

Looking at some of the available statistics in countries where Illovo Sugar Africa has businesses, in rural Tanzania for example, 80% of girls face period poverty; in Malawi 30% of girls miss many days of school each year for the same reasons; and in Eswatini, the cost of sanitary products can be as high as 20% of the country’s average per capita monthly income. These challenges result in schoolgirls being absent from school with many dropping out completely – this on its own creates longer-term repercussions for education, employment, health and livelihood. Overall, The United Nations estimates that one in ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa is absent from school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of sanitary products.

“So in essence, our involvement in this year’s Trek4Mandela hike complements our purpose. We have few inbuilt skills or resources to address period poverty; however, recognising the debilitating and potential longer-term impacts that period poverty brings to girls who live in the countries where we operate, we have chosen an innovative way to make a difference by partnering with the magnificent work done in this area by the Imbumba Foundation, together with its two Caring4Girls and Trek4Mandela programmes."

“In addition to that, and in the way we have arranged the participation of our own employees in this wonderful venture, we further align with Imbumba’s purpose around promoting diversity, gender equality, equity and inclusion within our business and to this extent, we will also be running initiatives in each of our countries to address this significant barrier to gender equality at a local community level. We were also very careful to ensure that our final team of 17 climbers come from diverse roles, levels of leadership and amongst others, varied cultural backgrounds. As such, there’s unity in diversity; it’s also about each member serving as an ambassador and a catalyst for change,” said Gavin.

It remains just for us to wish each of our climbers every success in reaching Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit – remember that you carry with you the hopes and dreams of many thousands of young girls across Southern Africa – your goal will be to give them a voice, instil their dignity and foster increasing confidence as they grow into adults.