Time to Celebrate!

July starts out as a festive month in my household, which is half American and half Canadian, as we celebrate both Canada Day on July 1 and Independence Day on July 4. Fireworks, barbecues and warmer weather abound to mark an official start to summer. But it’s also a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a place like North America and be able to give our time and energy to the children of South Africa.

This year, we KASers have something extra to celebrate. Having worked so hard for over a year and a half, we made over 178,000 squares, enough to exceed the height of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. That is a huge achievement! Knitters and crocheters alike traveled the world – from France to Japan, Egypt to Tunisia, Switzerland to New Zealand – one square (or 30!) at a time. That is well over 5,000 blankets.

This is what can happen when global citizens pool their efforts for the common good. We can reach such great heights together, square after square, blanket after blanket, smile after smile.

TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Part of a national park, Table Mountain is the most iconic landmark of South Africa and serves as a welcoming to travelers from all over the world, including KASers! The flat top peak of the mountain reaches 1,086 metres above sea level.

Here are some amazing facts about this UNESCO World Heritage Site:
1. It is the only South African and only natural site on the planet to have a constellation of stars named after it. The constellation is called “Mensa”, which means “table” in Latin.

2. Having withstood 6 million years of erosion, it hosts the richest floral kingdom on earth, with more than 1 470 floral species.

3. The Khoi people used to call the mountain Hoerikwaggo (Mountain of the Sea).

4. The first European to climb it, Antonio de Saldanha, called it Taboa de Caba (Table of the Cape).

5. The mountain is now officially recognized as one of the new seven world wonders.

6. Table Mountain is often covered in cloud. The cloud that forms around the mountain is called “table cloth.”

7. It is South Africa’s most photographed landmark.

8. Table Mountain is featured on Cape Town’s flag.

9. There are many caves on Table Mountain, the biggest one being Wynberg.

10. Over 800,000 people visit it each year.

11. The rocks on the mountain are over 600,000,000 years old making Table Mountain one of the oldest mountains in the world.

12. More than 70% of all the plants found on the mountain are endemic, meaning they are not found anywhere else.
(Credit: http://www.tablemountainnationalpark.org)