Cape Town - Rudy van Dieman, a 26-year-old tour guide for Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, began 2022 with an ambitious goal, to achieve 365 summits up Table Mountain for charity.
Born and raised in Mitchells Plain, Dieman said his goal was to build a safe haven for disadvantaged children with the charity money.
He said the challenge which has already began and will end on the December 31 came about as a means to show youngsters the power of a strong work ethic and demonstrate that they can achieve anything they set their hearts and minds to.
“What youngsters in our society need today is a good role model to show them that there are opportunities outside of drugs, crime and gangsterism. I hope my challenge will be a beacon of hope for those in disadvantaged communities.
‘’I have worked with several charities since matriculating high school in 2014, and my focus for this year is to uplift a new organisation, Angels SA, located in my hometown,’’ said Dieman.
With a crowd-funding campaign launched on Backabuddy, Dieman hopes to raise R1 million, which the organisation can use to purchase a safe house for children.
“In Mitchells Plain, there are only three known orphanages, two are for babies until five years, and after that, children are placed in safe houses for three months then move from home to house until they find families to keep them longer.
“With the safe house, we want to create a stable life and environment for children, where they can stay until the age of 18, before entering the job market,’’ he said.
So far he has completed 44 climbs up Table Mountain, covering a distance of more than 100km, and has been joined by more than 15 individuals supporting his cause.
Dieman’s initiative is inspired by his hero, Andrew Patterson, who through his 365 Ubuntu Climbs challenge in 2018, raised almost R1 million on BackaBuddy, to support Habitat for Humanity, One Heart, and The Sunflower Fund.
“I watched Andrew climb Table Mountain every day through the summer sun and winter rain, I could never understand why he would do this. The more I watched him, the more it became clear to me,’’ he said
Patterson said Rudy first contacted him in 2020 to tell me he wanted to tackle the Table Mountain challenge.
‘’Climbing Table Mountain every day for a year is a mammoth undertaking, but once I heard why he wanted to do this, I had absolute faith in him. Rudy is an incredible man with big dreams and an even bigger heart. I’m incredibly proud of him and supporting him with every step he climbs.” said Patterson
“Just as life is difficult for so many people, this challenge hasn’t been a walk in the park, but I remain positive, and through God’s grace I am finding balance. I am putting one foot in front of the other, concentrating on the important things in life and trying my best to create positive change,” Dieman said.
Weekend Argus