From Uhuru Peak to Every Community We Serve

Supplied by The Society for Animals in Distress

They did it!

In the early hours of the morning, after months of preparation, training, fundraising, and determination, Meg and the incredible Kilimanjaro Challenge team from Kusudi La proudly stood on the summit of Uhuru Peak – the highest point in Africa.

While reaching the Roof of Africa is an extraordinary achievement, this climb has always been about something far greater than the mountain itself.

Every step taken was a step towards changing lives.

The team set out to raise R500,000 to fund a much-needed veterinary outreach vehicle for the Society for Animals in Distress (SAID), ensuring that life-saving veterinary care can reach animals whose owners would otherwise have little or no access to these services.

Based in Midrand, many families in the communities we serve, including Tembisa, Olievenhoutbosch, Diepsloot, and Ivory Park, deeply care for their animals but face significant challenges in accessing veterinary treatment. The cost of private veterinary care is often beyond reach, and for many owners, travelling long distances to the nearest veterinary clinic is simply neither affordable nor practical.

As a result, animals often go without essential medical treatment, vaccinations and preventative care.

SAID’s outreach programme bridges this gap by bringing professional veterinary services directly into communities. By treating companion animals, working animals and farm animals where they are, we help families care for their animals, protect livelihoods and improve animal welfare. We know that caring for animals means caring for people too.

Through our humane education programme, we’re helping to build a more compassionate future by teaching empathy, kindness and responsible animal care from a young age. Instilling these values early in life encourages respect for all living beings and helps nurture caring, responsible citizens. By fostering empathy in children, we contribute to creating stronger communities, reducing the acceptance of violence, and encouraging behaviours that promote respect, dignity and positive social relationships for future generations.

As our CEO, Meg Harvey, so often reminds us: “Compassion in action creates safe spaces for animals and builds stronger communities.” This challenge embodies that belief perfectly.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to every member of the climbing team for this remarkable accomplishment and wish them a safe and enjoyable journey back down the mountain. Your resilience, commitment and passion have inspired us all.

Although the summit has been reached, the journey isn’t over.

There’s still time to help us reach our fundraising goal and ensure that this incredible effort results in an outreach vehicle that’ll serve thousands of animals (and the people who depend on them) for years to come.

Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer.

Thank you to every donor, supporter, sponsor and cheerleader who’s walked this journey with us. Together, we’re proving that compassion has the power to move mountains.

For more information about the Society for Animals in Distress, please visit the website at www.animalsindistress.org.za, call them on 011 466 0261 or WhatsApp them at 0027 83 640 8825, or email animals@animalsindistress.org.za.