Durban -The wife of the late car racer Gugu Zulu will return to the mountain that killed her husband to “plant” memories for her children.
Fitness enthusiast Letshego Zulu will join the Trek4Mandela crew that is going to climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for sanitary pads for underprivileged schoolgirls.
The single mother will be joined by her mother and her three-year-old daughter Lelethu in a trip to plant trees on the mountain slopes that killed her husband.
The Trees4Gugu campaign is to ensure the longevity of Gugu’s legacy and for the trees to help save the fast-melting glaciers.
Gugu was part of the 2016 expedition when he died from respiratory problems while attempting to conquer the 5895m-high mountain.
The annual expedition is also to honour Nelson Mandela.
This will be Zulu’s second visit to the mountain, after she summited last year.
She said she was no longer in a dark place in dealing with the loss of her husband, and had become more positive about life.
“I try to celebrate his life. I’m not mourning or sad anymore. I choose to live my life by celebrating his life, and do things in his memory to make memories for our daughter.
“Trees live on for hundreds of years, and I can always go back with my grandkids in the future to revisit the trees planted in honour of their grandfather, so it is more about leaving a legacy,” she said.
She joined forces with the Kilimanjaro Project by having a tree-planting ceremony on Friday.