Supporter Spotlight – Wild Women on the Run
Once again, the Wild Women on the Run have completed a 3 day, 70 kilometre running adventure along the spectacular Wild Coast from Coffee Bay to Sugar Loaf and back to Umngazi via Mermaids Pool. This was previously uncharted territory for most of the Wild Women.
This life-affirming, nurturing trail run brings the women who take part into a sisterhood of support and understanding and allows them to let go, run wild, be free, play, laugh and cry and most importantly heal. Giving women the time to love and nurture themselves. Women supporting women!
The women who run are not selected based on their running ability – they are each gifted a ticket by a previous Wild Woman. There are only 20 tickets and each belongs to a Wild Woman for a maximum of three years, after which she re-gifts her ticket to a woman who she feels will benefit most from the experience.
Lucille van der Merwe, Co-founder of Wild Women on the Run and founder of Wild Women on the Wall was able to join the ladies again this year after a 3 year absence (due to travel restrictions from China). She was able to bring along a fellow runner from the China-based sister event, Wild Women on the Wall, to experience the Wild Coast Wild Women event. Lucille says, “It was such a blessing to be able to share and showcase our magnificent coastline with Ilka, every single day she was in awe of our wildlife, blue skies, oceans and our warm and welcoming South African people“
Not only has this adventure challenge changed the lives of the over 80 women who have participated during the past 11 years, it has also raised over R R1,796,857 for three women-led charities, thus making a difference in the communities from which the women hail: African Angels Independent School, Busfare Babies Birth Centre and The Kings Children’s Home.
Eight of our African Angels primary school children are sponsored by Wild Women; 4 angels run on the great wall of China.
A few of the Wild Women on the Run were able to join us at African Angels this month to meet some of the African Angels whose school fees they sponsor.
We cannot thank these ladies enough for the ongoing and enthusiastic support of African Angels.
Kim van Kets, the third Co-founder of Wild Women on the Run says, “We are all women who acknowledge our astonishing levels of privilege (privilege isn’t about the struggles we have all gone through – it’s about the struggles we haven’t had to go through). With this constantly in mind, we are committed in our determination to make a difference, to lift other women up, to do what we can, where we are with what we have. Sometimes it’s difficult to know where to focus one’s efforts and resources – the need is so endless and so enormous in South Africa.
Supporting the Angels helps us to navigate this complexity. We are completely confident in the work the African Angels Independent School does and we know without any doubt that this investment in our Angel’s education will secure a better future for every girl-child we support and ultimately her family too. Our relationship with African Angels gives me hope. We are thrilled and grateful to have walked the journey with this extraordinary NPO for most of its life.”
