Written by: Jessica Solomons
The name Braam Malherbe is synonymous with adventure. The South African environmentalist has combined his love of the outdoors with his passion for running in order to spread his message about the plight of our planet. He has travelled from Tsitzikama to Cape Town on foot, conquered the entire length of the Great Wall of China and navigated the foot of Africa but Braam is not done yet and his next challenge is quite possibly his greatest undertaking to date.
Earth Challenge is due to kick off in 2012 and will involve one billion children from around the globe, several adventurers and a handful of celebrities all working together towards one common goal: holding people accountable for the damage done to earth and inspiring the world to make better choices for a brighter future. So what led Braam down this path to begin with?
Braam’s love of nature has been strong since childhood but he admits that it was only during his teenage years that his passion for the environment was really sparked. “I have always been close to nature and I think that from a young age I could sense all was not right with the earth,” says Braam. “When I was 16 I attended a Wilderness Leadership course in the Umfolozi Game Reserve and it was there that I had my moment of clarity and truly realized the extent to which human greed and consumption was negatively impacting our earth,” says the successful author and TV presenter.
Braam attributes his journey into the world of environmentalism and adventure to one man and one moment on that camp over thirty years ago. “We were each handed a hardboiled egg for lunch and before we peeled off the shell and ate it, our guide asked us to look at the egg as if it were the earth,” says Braam. “He then asked which part of the egg represented the atmosphere and like most people we all shouted ‘the shell’. But we were wrong. The correct answer, he said, was the fine membrane covering the egg itself and like this membrane the earth’s atmosphere is incredibly fragile. What our guide asked us next has stayed with me. What will you do to help?”
Since that moment Braam embarked on a journey that has taken him around the world making a difference. “Everything I have done is because I believe there is a purpose beyond myself,” says Braam. “And this purpose is to remind people that everything is connected and we need to each do our part to ensure the protection of this planet, our home,” he says. “People talk endlessly about the violation of human rights, but we need to also look at how nature’s rights are being violated,” says Braam. “Give and take is one of nature’s laws and if we as humans were to subscribe to that law, how many of us would still be here today?”
Braam’s mission is to get people’s heads out of the sand, to shine a spotlight on how human greed and consumption is wreaking havoc on our earth, and most importantly, inspire people to give back and re-establish their individual connection to nature to ensure there is a place for our children and children’s children to live. The statistics speak for themselves. The current extinction rate of species on earth is between 20 -30 000 per annum owing largely to habitat destruction. The water shortage crisis in Africa is devastating lives across the continent. And global warming continues to threaten our future and the future of our children.
The only way to curb this crisis, in Braam’s opinion, and many environmentalists would agree, is for each individual to make small changes for the greater good. And Braam is a shining example of how one person can truly make a difference. “My life is all about DOT – Do One Thing. If we all did just one thing differently, made one better, more informed choice, we can truly make a difference and create positive change,” says Braam whose show on 50/50 called “Get Connected With Braam”, promotes this idea of giving back and paying it forward.
“There is definitely a greater awareness in South Africa about the plight of our planet, but we are not doing enough to curb this crisis,” says Braam. “We need to take action here at home.”
While Braam is encouraging us South Africans to do our part, his latest initiative, Earth Challenge, is taking his message globally and inviting people from around the world to join forces and give back. Earth Challenge will trace humanity’s footprint out of Africa across the globe, following the super ocean highway, as it is called, in an attempt to demonstrate the way in which we have populated, and overpopulated, the earth. Braam and his team will highlight various plights around the world, such as the water shortage crisis in Africa, and educate people on how to live more sustainably in order to reverse the damage we as a species have done. This incredible adventure will be filmed as a 24 episode documentary and with interest in the project growing, Earth Challenge will hopefully force us all to wake up and hold ourselves accountable.
The question we now ask all of you is this: what will you do to help?
The liveeco team
