Do you want to get involved – Either Hike with Us, or Donate?
In our continued attempts to push our edge to our personal potential, my husband and I embarked on a new campaign to raise money and awareness for the Ignite Excellence Foundation. The Foundation focuses on Leadership, Advocacy, and Education. It’s mandate is to invest, inspire and developfuture African women leaders. Our approach is to invest in tertiary education for a candidate that demonstrates a vision and the ability to execute on that vision. The vision has to fill one of the major gaps in African communities, countries or continent.
Hiking Heights for Higher Education is an initiative that calls on anyone in the West or Africa who wants to change the landscape of leadership to assist many of the injustices done to women and children. We often invest in young girls and boys primary education, but to change policies we need leaders with integrity. By equalizing the leadership landscape by providing more women with the skills to lead in business, eduction, politics or philanthropy, we create a ripple effect of women’s voices being heard, and more importantly listened to in the communities, countries and on the continent.
The scholarship recipients needs complete an extensive application and interview process to ensure they are the individual that we believe will create a positive ripple effect in their community, country or continent.
To celebrate this initiative my husband and I summitted Mount Kenya on March 16, 2012. Mt Kenya height at Point Lenana is (4979 m/16,335 ft). This is the second largest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro. Often considered a more challenging climb. I would have to agree as we did hiked Kilimanjaro in 2007 prior to commencing this campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to raise funds. The execution is to ‘hike’ to the highest point of African Countries we visit. We will be travelling to countries to interview African women leaders for Wisdom Exchange tv. We will only hike, not climb. In the case of Mt. Kenya, the heights point is a very technical climb. We summitted at Point Lenana, although a hike, not any easy endeavour. With safety ropes for the last 30 minutes and shear drops to the left and right, my fear of heights was just as big of a obstacle to concur as the mountain itself.
If you would like to donate, you can donate direct to the fund foundation management: The fund is managed by Tides Canada Foundation. Tides Canada Charity number: BN 86894 7797RR0001.
If you would like to join us for the hike and raise funds for this initiative, email us at info@igniteexcellence.com or visit Hiking Heights for Higher Education. New information regularly.
The countries that we are targeting to summit next are: (The ranking beside each mountain indicates its ranked size in compared to all the other African peaks).
39. Swaziland – Emlembe – Southern Africa
10. Lesotho – Thabana Ntlenyana – Southern Africa
11. South Africa – Mafadi – Southern Africa
