William Baartman and the Avela Foundation just celebrated their successful Everest base climb by posting on Instagram. The group did the climb to raise funds for the Kimberly Hospital Burn Ward
Twelve incredible people have raised nearly R2-Million for the Avela Foundation. The group committed to climb to the Mount Everest base camp. Today they have succeeded!
The money raised will be used to revamp the Kimberly Hospital’s, Burn Ward. Due to the vast distances in South Africa, it is of utmost importance to have a state-of-the-art paediatric burns unit in the Northern Cape. The funds will not only refurbish the burn unit, they will provide specialised care as well.
One of the twelve Avela champions is William Baartman.
William is a burn survivor and has faced immense challenges because of it. His story stuck out to us the most because he has personally been affected by burns.
“At the age of three years old, he was a victim of gross Human Rights violation when his home was petrol bombed by local students because his father was an Afrikaans teacher. He sustained 75% burn wounds and lost his younger sister, Grace in the fire. William’s story is not of self-pity and hate; it is of triumph, courage and positivity and that touched my soul and didn’t let go.” – Lindiwe Suttle
Lindiwe was inspired by Williams story when she met him in 2015 and has since become a massive advocate for his life. She has been by his side through all his new life experiences, helping him come out of his shell.
The Avela Foundation shared their celebrations on Instagram and everyone shared one word about their climb to the base-camp. William’s one word was “Thank-you”. This opportunity has changed his life and will help change the lives of children in the Northen Cape as well.
The foundation has R180,000 to go before they reach their goal of R2-million. You can help them by donating here. Each of the group had fully funded their own climbs so the full amount raised will go directly to the Kimberly burn ward revamp.
Take a look at their celebration video below.
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