On the 19th of February 2026, I, Joanne Seymour, will be embarking on a 140km (14 day trek) circular route from Lukla up to Everest Base Camp tackling freezing temperatures and steep icy slopes of the Cho La Pass (5420m) to the turquoise waters of the Gokyo Lakes back to Lukla. It is a test of endurance and grit. While I tackle these mountains, I am raising funds for the Little Optimist Trust. I am completely self-funding my trek so every Rand raised through this page goes directly to the Little Optimist Trust, a charity (which I am very passionate about) dedicated to healing and empowering disadvantaged and marginalised children from backgrounds of poverty and abuse. The Little Optimist Trust is a registered South African NPO and PBO so you would be able to claim Section 18A Tax Benefits through your donations.
I became involved with the Little Optimist Trust in June 2025 when I visited the Charity and was blown away by the incredible work that they do. The Little Optimist Trust uses “sailing therapy” to change lives. They take children who have faced immense trauma and introduce them to the ocean and help heal them through water therapy in a safe, supportive environment, teaching them vital safety skills, gaining self-confidence and a sense of purpose they never knew was possible. For many, it’s a career path. Some of these children grow up to become world-class sailors who have come to care for nature, and many are now champion sailors who have crossed oceans and/or skilled boat manufactures, breaking the cycle of poverty and trauma for good.
My trek will take me from 2600m to 5600m in the Himalayas in temperatures at night dropping to -20. I am very fortunate and privileged as a hiker to be able to have the opportunity of attempting what should be on every hiker’s bucket list. Although my initial reason for attempting this trek was more a spiritual and personal one to honour my Mom, Denise Creed who passed away 2 years ago and who I promised I would do it for her and having my Father, Malcolm Creed have his 83rd Birthday the day before I hopefully reach Everest Base Camp is a very personal one, so being able to combine this with helping an incredible cause and to try and raise funds for the Little Optimist Trust I feel very blessed to be able to try and achieve not only for myself but to help children in need to overcome their adversities on a daily basis would be a dream come true. I am hoping the funds I raise will similarly allow others to achieve theirs.
As I tackle the thin air and steep climbs of the Himalayas, please consider donating (however small – every Rand counts). Your donation provides the food, gear, maintaining the dinghy’s and coaching these children need to realize that they too can navigate life’s roughest seas. I am doing this because the kids of the Little Optimist Trust face “mountains” every single day and together we can help make a difference in their lives. All funds raised will go to transporting the vulnerable children to and from the Yacht Club and providing a hot meal and drink and get them taught/shown skills and in life jackets and sailing. The volunteers that assist us provide the tuition and care and guidance and their time for free, but we need the funds to keep the boats fully maintained and the children financed. To see the look on their faces when they arrive for the first time not knowing one end of a dinghy from the other and to see how engaged and eager they are to learn and to see the smiles on their faces at the end of the session and giving them a hot meal is just magical.
My trek if successful will see me return to my family in Hout Bay on the 10th of March. My Sherpa Jabat has told me that it will be a battle against the unpredictable elements and mountain and the cold and how my body reacts to the altitude, but I am determined (through the Grace of God) to finish. I will be thinking of the children from IY and Hangberg every step of the way
Im taking the steps, but I need you behind me. Whether its R50 or R5000, your contribution helps a child trade trauma for the healing power of the ocean. Can you help me reach my goal of R25000. Even the price of a meal for one child makes a difference.
For further information contact The Little Optimist Trust and Hout Bay Yacht Club member Tansy Pyatt on tansypyatt@gmail.com.
I’ll be sharing updates of my trek right here (when I can and when signal allows me to).
