Sailing Magazine
The adventure is now over for the 8 young South Africans aged between 18 and 23 who were selected to create a ‘tag’ team in a initiative funded by the Sapinda Group and supported by the Nelson Mandela Childrens Fund.
Info on the 8 South African ambassadors can be found here: Clipper – SapindaRainbow Project Ambassadors_PDF
Eleven months ago, the 8 young South African ambassadors of the Sapinda Rainbow Project were in Durban competing against 20 other hopefuls to be part of the project and take on the challenge crossing the world’s oceans on board the Invest Africa entry. Many had not seen a boat before taking part and coming from disadvantaged backgrounds wanted to push themselves and learn new skills to develop as influential young people within their communities.
Since the launch of the project at the 2013 Annual Children’s Celebration to mark its founder Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday in Johannesburg, South Africa the ambassadors have visited the UK, completed 3 weeks of training to learn how to sail a 70 foot ocean racing yacht and attended events around the world including a charity gala in Berlin, walking the red carpet at the German premiere of the film, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”.
The initiative has provided a unique personal development opportunity to develop the candidates into young community leaders of the future in South Africa, and acting as global ambassadors to raise international awareness and funds for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
The hospital has been initiated by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund as a legacy project to provide world-class healthcare for all children of Southern Africa. For some of the ambassadors, this was the first time they had seen the sea or a boat before, and the first time they had left South Africa, presenting them with a challenge like no other.
The initiative is funded by the Sapinda group, an investment holding company with particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Dirk van Daele, Sapinda Executive Committee member and CEO of Anoa Capital, participated in the 2009-10 edition of the Clipper Race and saw how it developed young people from around the world in building their confidence and leadership skills. It inspired him to see how he could offer a similar opportunity to young South Africans who wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was founded by sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968-9 to provide the opportunity to sail round the world, regardless of previous sailing experience.
To find out more about the Sapinda Rainbow Project Ambassadors, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jigr5zr6tnwc2nl/Clipper%20Round%20the%20World%20Yacht%20Race%20-%20Sapinda%20Rainbow%20Project%20Ambassadors.docx
