Angela Yeung stood at the top of the world… and used that moment to shine light on those often left in the shadows.
Nepal (03 June 2025) – Standing 8,849 metres above sea level, surrounded by ice, snow and the thinnest air imaginable, Angela Yeung took her final step to the summit of Mount Everest… and then chose to take her next steps straight into the heart of something even more powerful. Giving back.
At 10:56am China Time on the 24th of May 2025, the South African philanthropist, adventurer and founder of the Impilo Collection Foundation officially reached the top of the world. Not from the typical southern Nepalese route but from the much more treacherous North Side through Tibet, a path known for its technical difficulty, bitter cold and brutal wind conditions.
It’s the kind of climb where frostbite, avalanches, and exhaustion are all part of the risk, and where every breath can feel like a battle. Many don’t make it. Some never come down. But Angela did. And what she did after the climb makes her story truly remarkable.
Because for Angela, reaching the summit wasn’t the end goal, it was just the beginning.
After surviving the grueling 50-day expedition, she and her incredible Sherpa team carried over 100 kilograms of clothing, shoes and books to children living in some of Nepal’s most remote Himalayan communities. Their first stop was the Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School and the Mountain Children Home, where they were met with beaming smiles, wide eyes and little hands eager to explore the pages of books they had never seen before.
These donations weren’t just ‘stuff’. They were stories. They were warmth. They were hope.
“I climbed Everest to show that anything is possible,” Angela shared. “But what truly matters is what we do with that possibility. Reaching the summit is a moment. Changing a child’s life? That’s a legacy.”
Angela’s journey was also deeply symbolic. Through the Impilo Collection Foundation’s “Climb For Humanity” campaign, she collected 8,849 bras (a bra for every metre of Everest’s height) to raise awareness and support for survivors of gender-based violence.
It’s an unmissable message: that even the biggest mountains can be conquered with purpose.
The children she met live in sacred regions steeped in centuries of spirituality but where access to modern education is limited. Many attend monastic schools that offer spiritual grounding but lack material resources. Angela’s approach respects both, believing in a future where academic learning and moral development go hand in hand.
And perhaps that’s what makes her story so incredibly uplifting. It’s not just about chasing altitude, it’s about compassion, commitment and community.
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