Goitseone Gontse Kekana is the first woman from Marokolong to conquer the Kilimanjaro for her cause to raise awareness of the pain suffered by children without father figures, and the Healing thereof.
As part of her charity work, she visits prisons to talk to inmates about how they ended up in jail, and in most cases, she discovered that most of them grew up without a father figure. She also noticed some of the people around her who did not have relationships with their kids and also those that don’t have a relationship with their fathers and she decided to Summit Kilimanjaro for this cause (Father-Child Relationships).
Ms Kekana who was born in Kuruman and later moved to Marokolong when she was in Grade 2, said she has always been encouraged by one deprived guy from her area who made it in life against all odds.
She is not new to taking challenges, she said she attempted Comrades Marathon, four times, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, she did not finish any of them, but that did not discourage her. She has also done Sky Diving and Bungee Jumping and the other adventurous activities.
On 18 August 2017, she began one of her toughest adventurers, to summit the Kilimanjaro.
“I took it as a challenge for me to climb this mountain because I am an adventurous person and I was serious about raising awareness for my cause.
“Climbing was very tough as I encountered health problems(severe Altitude Sickness on Day 2) but I thank my guide who kept me motivated by reminding me that I was not doing this for myself but for those without relationship with their fathers.
“On the final ascent, I was very numb but I surprised myself as I remained calm and focused and took it one step at a time or pole-pole as the Tanzanians would say.
“It was really tough as I approached Stella Point which is about 700m before the Uhuru Peak,” said Ms Kekana.
She said nothing could stop her from climbing because she was serious about her cause and she felt that the pain she was experiencing could not compare to that felt by children who grow up without father figures.
“I made it against all hardships, I conquered despite being nauseas, having headaches and dizziness. The last 700 meters took me about an hour to finish and as I got a glimpse of the Uhuru sign, I immediately forgot that I was feeling sick, all of those feelings melted away.
“That is when tears of victory started rolling down my eyes because I realised that I had conquered,” she said.
Currently Ms Kekana works for a testing company iLAB at the BC
X/Telkom site in Centurion.
She said it is through the support of her company, her family and colleagues that she was able to make her dream a reality.
“Nothing could have stopped me to climb for my cause because I have seen how children without father figures end up taking wrong decisions in life, and I know how the healing thereof can help sort out most of the Social ills.,” she said.
