I have had the privilege of meeting the amazing adventurer and philanthropist Kingsley Holgate on three occasions now. Twice on Land Rover new-model launches and once with the introduction of Cooper Tyres to South Africa as a stand-alone brand (they used to form part of the Apollo Tyres group). The most recent occasion was with the launch of the updated Land Rover Discovery as well as the Range Rover Evoque in Botswana and Zambia, ending up in the town of Livingstone.
Having been born with Africa in the blood (his father was a missionary), Kingsley travelled the length and breadth of Africa. He felt like he had to continue the culture but saw that there had to be a purpose behind the adventure. And so the distribution of mosquito nets to combat the dreaded malaria disease forms the major humanitarian venture. Others include Rite to Sight, an initiative started by his late wife Gill (known as Mshozi, or “she who wears shorts”) who noted that many poor locals battled to read or work due to failing eyesight. They now distribute reading spectacles in a variety of strengths after giving people a simple eye test. Yet other valuable life saver by the Kingsley Holgate Foundation is the Lifestraw, an all-in-one filter that can purify up to 10 000 litres of water before needing replacement, removing practically all bacteria and parasites.
Through these adventures, many lives have been saved and hardship and suffering reduced. Keep up the good work, guys!
Keep up to date with his team’s adventures via its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KingsleyHolgateFoundation, as well as www.kingsleyholgate.net
Watch the video below for a summary on the launch of the updated Evoque and Discovery.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BLg5K2cSoMo
