Retshegofaditswe “Tshego” Hatang might be only 10 years old, but he already has a passion for helping others.
He became one of the youngest Africans to reach the second highest peak on Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which he climbed because he wanted to raise funds for schoolgirls who can’t afford sanitary pads.
“I was not scared to hike up that mountain. I wanted to do it because my mom had told me there are some girls who cannot afford sanitary pads. I wanted to help raise funds for them,” Retshegofaditswe said.
The Grade 4 pupil was accompanied by his father, Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang, who was attempting his third climb.
Father and son were among nine climbers who went up Kilimanjaro as part of the Trek4Mandela excursion to raise funds to help underprivileged schoolgirls. The hike started on August 5, to mark the day Mandela was arrested in 1962. They summited on Women’s Day.
Retshegofaditswe reached Stella Point, the second highest peak on Africa’s tallest mountain. He had to turn back because Hatang was worried that it was getting too cold for his son.
Hatang admits he wanted Retshegofaditswe to turn back even before that.
“He had been complaining about the cold, and I wanted him to turn back. I gave him my jacket and everyone said he was fine to continue because he didn’t have any symptoms of altitude sickness. I had to trust the guides.
“When we got to Gilman’s Point I wept because I was so proud of him. I realised I could have halted my son’s dreams sooner because I was scared,” Hatang said.
But when they got to Stella Point, Hatang put his foot down and wouldn’t allow Retshegofaditswe to continue. “The wind was too strong, and he was exhausted. For him to continue would be taking it too far.
“He was crying. He kept asking why he had to turn back, because he was so close. But he can go back when he’s 16,” Hatang said.
For Retshegofaditswe, the first trip up Kilimanjaro has started a love story, and he’d like to go back again next year - and this time reach Uhuru Peak. “I will try to convince my dad to let me go back next year. If I don’t, I will have to think of other ways to raise funds,” Retshegofaditswe said.
Hatang said climbing Kilimanjaro with his son was stressful.
“He has been hiking for a while. He has hiked in the Drakensberg a lot over the past three years, and has been trying to convince me about Kilimanjaro. If he wants to go back he will have to make the decision when he is 16, not now,” Hatang added.
He said he has also had a talk with his daughter Lethabo, 16, about whether she wanted to attempt Kilimanjaro.
“I advised her to wait until she’s in her first year at university and make the choice for herself,” he added.
Lethabo, who is also an avid hiker, is the only member of the family who hasn’t hiked up the Tanzanian mountain.
Hatang’s wife Thembi summited last year.
Hatang says the trip taught him to let go and be a more trusting parent.
“It taught me to trust people with my child. To give him over to the village, and that he would be fine. During the expedition, everyone became his parent. Sometimes, because of fear, parents make things that are easy difficult.”
On the first day of the expedition Retshegofaditswe’s maternal grandmother died, but he was not informed. “On the last night on the mountain, he said he misses his granny and his dog.
“I told him to dedicate the trip to his grandmother, because she had been unwell. So the trip has a double meaning for him,” Hatang said, adding that Retshegofaditswe was told only once he was off the mountain that his grandmother had passed away.
For Hatang, the biggest pride is in his children acknowledging their privilege and being open to taking up charity work.
“It is beyond the mountain. You cannot ask for more when your children are good and kind.”