Central SA
North West Education Director reaches peak of Kilimanjaro─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 11:24 Mon, 26 Sep 2022
The North West Department of Education's Director for Strategy and Governance has defied the odds by achieving one of her goals after reaching the highest mountain peak in Africa.
The 57-year-old Pamela Rasetshwane became one of the people to reach the peak of the Kilimanjaro Mountain in Tanzania on Thursday 22 September 2022. The North West Education spokesperson, Elias Malindi, says that Rasetshwane - who is a mother of two and a grandmother of three boys and one girl - is an epitome of valid dreams and achieving them as she always had a dream of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro since 2015. Malindi says the 57-year-old had prepared herself for this adventure by climbing the Drakensberg and Kgaswane Mountains and the Mmabatho Stadium regularly. He adds that this year Rasetshwane decided to take her 11 days of annual leave, of which seven were used to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
“On behalf on the entire department I wish to congratulate Ms Rasetshwane on her personal achievement. This achievement will go down a long way to motivate all employees in the department, to show them that it is possible when you put your mind to it. No matter of the age, background, and social status you can achieve your dreams. I think Ms Rasetshwane deserves a hero’s welcome, she is a conqueror,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rasetshwane says that she started training last year and did a lot of walking to prepare herself for the adventure.
“I reached the mountain summit in six days, one day was for acclimatising so that the body can adjust to the altitude. This is the highest altitude ever from all the mountains I climbed before. I did a lot of local hikes, including the Mafadi Peak in the Drakensburg Mountain, which is 3 482 meters above sea level. I broke my ankle in 2015 while preparing for Kilimanjaro while climbing the Kgaswane Mountain. We then planned it in 2019 but due to Covid–19 we could not undertake the adventure. We became patient only to climb this year in 2022,” she said.
Rasetshwane encouraged people to never doubt their ability by stating that her achievement was not due to her physical strength but rather the mentality of not quitting.
The MEC for Education, Mmaphefo Matsemela congratulated Rasetshwane for reaching the summit of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. She further encouraged all her staff not to give up on their dreams. Malindi says Rasetshwane and her team are expected to touch down in South Africa on Tuesday 27 September 2022.
