The Plum Blossoms

The challengers

Nicola Davidson, Jill Prins and Hermien Elago

The mission

To climb Kilimanjaro in September 2019

To raise funds and awareness for diabetes and depression.

The goal

To raise R150 000 for our gear, training, and expedition to Kilimanjaro.

To raise a further R100 000 to donate towards the awareness, education, and treatment of diabetes and depression.

The process

Individuals: Donate any amount of your choosing, any time you like. No matter how big or small, every donation takes us one step closer to Kili. Or, instead of donating a lump sum, you can choose to sponsor one or both of us a certain amount for every trail kilometre covered between now and Kili. Simply email me on [email protected] to chat more about this option.

Corporates: Invest in a corporate sponsorship of R2 500, and we'll print your logo on our corporate banner, which we'll be taking on our trip with us - which means that sponsoring our adventure will take your brand all the way to the top of Africa! We'll also tag you in our social media posts, driving traffic to your pages and increasing your brand awareness.

Alternatively you can make donations straight from your bank account to ours via the details listed below:

NKM Davidson

ABSA Savings account

Acc no: 9285979223

Branch code: 632005

SWIFT (BIC): ABSAZAJJ

Please use [Your Name] Kilimanjaro as a reference so we know who to thank!

The motivation

Nicola: Obesity and chronic illness has always been a challenge I've needed to overcome, from weighing 135kg at my heaviest, and being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2006. For years I've battled both these demons, losing and gaining huge amounts of weight, and never really succeeding. Since 2013, however, I've made a once-and-for-all final stand at taking my life back, and have managed to lose a significant amount of weight, while reversing my type 2 diabetes at the same time. I also discovered trail running along the way - something that pushes me to my limits and makes me see what I'm really capable of. I've done 5k races and half marathons, I've run over mountains and through rivers. And now it's time for my biggest challenge yet - climbing the highest mountain in Africa, reaching my goal weight on the year-long journey to its base, and spreading the message that you never have to settle. That you never have to give up. That you never have to accept your worst life. You can change your circumstances, your health, your motivations and your life. All it takes is courage and a single step. And all the steps I walk on the journey to Kili, up to its highest peak and down again will be raising money to fight the disease that was a part of me for so many years, and to show others that they can do the same.

Jill: My first episode occurred when I was 15. That was the first time I ended up in hospital for depression, but it wouldn't be the last. Depression, suicidal thoughts and the inability to make decisions haunted me from my mid-twenties and I found myself turning to food for comfort, and starting a cycle of bingeing. In 2014 I started seeing a psychiatrist and a psychologist, as my family felt I needed professional help. I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2015, and felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Through this knowledge I was able to get help and learn to identify and how to deal with BPD, but unfortunately the bad habits of binge eating continued. In 2016 at 115kg, however, I reached a point in my life where I was ready to take control back. I was obese, uncomfortable and always felt sick and tired. I signed up for a weight loss challenge in September of that year, determined to reach my goals while battling BPD. I did my first 5km and received a medal. I sat in the car that night and cried. I had such pride in myself and realised that it had been a very long time since I'd felt any kindness towards myself. That was the first step of many I've since taken along races and trails. It's because of this that I'm passionate about creating awareness for people who suffer from depression and mental illnesses such as BPD. You are not as alone as you think you are - there are other people who know how you feel, and anything is possible if you set your heart and spirit to it. You really can go after your dreams and make them a reality. And that's what I'll be doing when I climb Kili.

Hermien Elago: My weight issues have consumed and affected almost every single facet of my life. That is a hard thing to admit to myself, let alone to anyone else.
But on the 1st of September 2013, I finally faced the facts: I was unable to walk even short distanced without running out of breath; I couldn't sit in a chair without squirming, due to to shortness of breath caused by the excess weight pressing down on my organs; I was depressed; my health was deteriorating, and my quality of life was diminishing at an alarming rate. On that day, almost 5 years ago, I summoned the courage to change.
My journey has been difficult. I have fallen a thousand times. But I learned to rise each time, stronger. The goal has always been worth the effort.
I chose to use the power of digital media to share what it continuously takes to overcome binge/emotional eating, and to take back control of my health.
Over these five years, I have run multiple half-marathons and a full marathon, I have taken on rough trails, I have competed in a Crossfit Open, and I am currently training for a Bikini Fitness Competition.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro has always been in my sights, because I want my life to be a testament to overcoming obstacles, and reaching goals in the face of any challenge in the way. A testament to moving mountains.
But I have another, more immediately important purpose in doing it. Type 2 Diabetes on the rise throughout the world. It is the number one cause of death in Namibia and, more personally, a disease that afflicts my mother. It can be prevented, it can be reversed, and it can be managed. I want to climb Kili to raise awareness about Type 2 Diabetes.

I'm on a mission: to see just how great the human body was designed to feel, to discover what it is capable of. And as I discover this, I share the lessons learnt along the way, because I want others to know that we have other options than to feel enslaved in our bodies. I want others to know that despite our shortcomings and flaws, despite the challenges, we can achieve great things.