A team of 16 men and women are going the extra mile to help Hope for Justice end modern slavery as they climb South Africa’s highest mountain range.
The group are midway through their epic six-day trek across the Drakensberg. It is a beautiful and dramatic natural landscape that is home to one of the world’s highest waterfalls, the Tugela Falls.
But despite the stunning scenery, the Extreme Challenge 2024 is not for the faint-hearted.
The Drakensberg – the dragon mountains – rises to more than 3,475m and extends roughly northeast to southeast for 700 miles.
This is the first hike of this scale for Russ Backwell and her husband JP, who are among the intrepid adventurers.
Part-way through the trek, Russ told us: “As we were driving here and I saw the size of the mountains, I actually got a bit afraid. Hiking is not something I’ve done; it’s not something we do as a family very much. When you hear the statistics about modern slavery it is completely shocking and almost unbelievable. Coming on the challenge, for me, was something that I felt I could do – and we could do as a family – that would bring awareness and help raise funds, and put it in the hands of the people who can make a difference and are really good and equipped at helping those who need to be seen and found and heard and understood. I know there’s people out there right now who don’t have any security, any future, any sense of what is going to happen next. We all can make a difference and we all should make a difference.”
The Extreme Challenge is an annual fundraising event, organised by the charity, which puts participants through their paces whilst simultaneously raising vital funds.
This year’s team hope to raise a huge £100,000 towards the life-changing work of Hope for Justice, bringing freedom to the 49.6 million men, women and children who are trapped in modern slavery around the globe. You can find out more about our work here.
Participants of this year’s challenge, which includes Hope for Justice’s CEO Tim Nelson, were in training for several months to prepare for the gruelling climb.
They set off on Tuesday (8th October). Over the six days, they will cover roughly 90-100km at an altitude of about 3,000m.
As they began, team member Sheralyn Pattison posted on Facebook: “Today we hike. We have been told by our fantastic guide, Ian, of Drakensberg Hiker, that this is technically more challenging than Kilimanjaro. Again, I am left questioning my life choices! For the record, I really detest climbing uphill but I just hate modern slavery even more and will do anything I can to bring an end to this horrendous crime. Every donation really makes a difference to Hope for Justice. Please support us.”
Craig Anderson, another member of the team who has volunteered with Hope for Justice for 10 years, wrote on his JustGiving page: “So why am I going to push my body to extremes it hasn’t gone to before with this adventure? Because I have the freedom to do so. Because there are 49.6 million men, women and children who don’t have that freedom…So I choose to use my freedom to raise funds to help them gain their freedom.”
You can support the team’s fundraising by donating to their JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/extreme-challenge-drakensberg-2024
