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Returning home a hero
Thabang Skwambane (front right) joined by friends and colleagues at Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa (5 895m).
Thabang after thousands of kilometres of cycling and climbing.
ELEVEN weeks ago Thabang Skwambane (31) set off on a bicycle from Johannesburg to cycle alone and unsupported through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, covering a total distance of 5,458km. Thabang was then joined by friends and colleagues, including 5fm DJ, Catherine, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and the team successfully summited Uhuru Peak (5,895m) on the morning of Wednesday 12 September.
Thabang, who feels compelled to make a difference in the lives of those unable to help themselves, knew that it would take an exceptional event to get public attention, and so it was that he and Grace Meadows set up The Lonely Road Foundation earlier this year and started planning towards the challenge.
Thabang is an executive director of Kaelo, an HIV/AIDS and Wellness company. He has been involved in fighting HIV/AIDS for the last three years and in his work he has seen the devastating effect of the global epidemic on households, children and even entire communities. The disaster has struck and only radical action will ensure that we provide adequate support to it. This is a social disaster that will leave an indelible mark on all of us and we havent understood the burden we will have to bear in the near future! said Thabang before he embarked on his amazing journey.
The Lonely Road Challenge was an inspirational and symbolic journey, conceived to create awareness around the critical issue of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in South Africa. Monies raised will fund programmes of support in rural communities unable to respond to their own crisis, and The Lonely Road Foundation will become the structure of the village that raises the child.
This journey exposed Thabang to the best and worst in people, and the road presented many physical hardships along with a loneliness he felt daily. Buoyed by company in Tanzania, Thabangs renewed vigour helped him to conquer the mountain. His efforts and sacrifices have touched the hearts of many South Africans and reminded us that this issue is one we must work together to resolve.
Now The Lonely Road Challenge has come to an end and Thabang returned home to a heros welcome. Asked about the journey Thabang responded, It was a gruelling physical, emotional and spiritual challenge, that presented life experiences in two and a half months that some people will not encounter in a lifetime.
Thabang hopes that his experience will inspire other people to get up and do something about the crisis of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in South Africa.
To make a donation to The Lonely Road Foundation or for more information on The Lonely Road Challenge please visit www.thelonelyroad.org
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