While other teenagers are celebrating the start of 2012, 19-year-old Nzuzo Mnikathi will be making his final preparations for a journey that will end at the South Pole. Once there, he will set a new world record as the youngest black person to ever complete this epic trek.
Nzuzo is part of a six-man team of South African adventurers who will be skiing 111km across Antarctica as part of The Unlimited Child Expedition. Their trek starts on 14 January 2012, when they will be flown to 89 degrees latitude. From this point, they will have 14 days to complete the crossing to the South Polo.
Nzuzo is apprehensive, but believes he has the mental tenacity to take on this challenge. Born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, Nzuzo lost both his parents when he was young and has been raised by his grandmother Ivy. He is currently completing Grade 12 and plans to study Environmental Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal next year.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It took me a while to get my head around it, but I realise it’s about me challenging myself. If it wasn’t really extreme, it wouldn’t be such a huge achievement,” Nzuzo explains.
In preparation for Antarctic conditions, Nzuzo will be following a tough training regime. In the spirit of former polar explorers, this includes walking for hours on end, dragging truck tyres to replicate the 40kg sledge he will have to pull and sitting in a commercial freezer to acclimatise to the cold!
Nzuzo comments: “For sure I’m going to get more than a few odd looks, but it’s all about preparation and I’ll get used to it.”
But he won’t be alone during his training. Nzuzo has already been receiving support and encouragement from the other team members, including the renowned adventurer Sean Wisedale. Sean is the first African to have climbed the Seven Summits – the highest mountain on each continent including Mount Everest – and he successfully completed a South Pole expedition in 2010. He brings a huge amount of experience to the team and will be next to Nzuzo every step of the way.
“A journey of this magnitude is a huge challenge for anyone, let alone a young man who has seldom travelled beyond his hometown. The mental and physical strength that will be necessary for Nzuzo to complete this crossing should be a tremendous inspiration to all South Africans. He is taking on an immense challenge and we need to cheer him on,” says Wisedale.
While Nzuzo will have Wisedale and the team to support him, he will also be driven by his passion to make a difference for all South Africa’s children. Nzuzo has pledged his record-breaking attempt to The Unlimited Child, an initiative that actively addresses the dire need for early childhood development in South Africa.
Unless children receive the correct stimulation from birth to the age of six, such as learning colours and shapes through educational toys, their potential in life will be severely stunted. This process is irreversible. Not even the best teachers in the world can help these children, ever. They are untrainable and destined for a life of poverty, as they will never have the ability to learn a skill. In South Africa, this currently applies to over 6 million children!
The Unlimited Child targets early childhood development by providing existing crèches with educational toys and practical training for caregivers. It aims to reach 1.25-million children throughout South Africa by 2016, but additional funding and replication of The Unlimited Child model is required. Only then will thousands more children enter school with ready minds and the capacity to reach their full potential.
Nzuzo explains his reasons for supporting The Unlimited Child: “I want to use this opportunity to show the world that all things are possible, that difficulties can be overcome with determination and the right attitude. Yes, this is about setting a new record as the youngest black person to reach the South Pole, but more importantly, it’s about the challenge of trying to achieve something of value against the backdrop of an unpredictable and unforgiving environment. It’s about giving every single young child in South Africa a chance at a future.”