5 South African Teens Visit Antarctica, Emerge Climate Leaders

Seventeen-year-old Luke Boswell thought he cared about the environment until he stood on Antarctica's endless ice and realized caring wasn't enough.

The Gqeberha high schooler was one of five South African students selected for December's Students in Antarctica programme, a unique expedition that flies African teenagers directly into Deep Field Antarctica. Unlike tourist trips that reach nearby islands by ship, these students land on the continent itself.

"They kept telling us it wouldn't really hit until we saw it ourselves," Boswell said. "No documentary or photo can describe it."

The programme is the vision of adventurer Riaan Manser, who has spent six years taking South African students to the frozen continent. His goal isn't to create protesters but practical problem-solvers who will sit in boardrooms in ten years making real change.

The December cohort included Aaminah Choonara, Allegra du Randt, Naethan Mol, and Ntokozo Nkuna. Together they hiked to ice walls, explored ancient ice tunnels, and completed the "Upside Down Run," a half-marathon named for the continent's position at the bottom of the world.

"It is not a joy ride," Manser said. "We want to challenge them and inspire them to think differently about the environment."

The students also camped overnight in minus 25-degree temperatures without tents, mirroring the experience of early polar explorers. Every physical challenge was designed to push them beyond their comfort zones.

For Choonara, who grew up watching her grandfather build a humanitarian organization, the expedition connected her family's local work to global environmental challenges. "We tend to think humanitarian work only exists internationally, but a huge amount needs to be done right on our own doorstep," she said.

The Ripple Effect

This is the only programme in the world taking African students into Deep Field Antarctica. Manser handpicks students whose intelligence and drive suggest they'll become leaders, then gives them an experience impossible to forget.

"We want young people who can find solutions to environmental problems," he said. The programme blends climate education with personal transformation, betting that teenagers who sleep on ice and witness pristine wilderness will return home changed.

For Boswell, the shift was immediate. "Seeing Antarctica's pristine wilderness and learning how quickly it could change made it impossible not to care," he said.

The students returned home carrying more than memories. They brought back a responsibility to protect what they witnessed and the confidence to believe they can make a difference.

Five teenagers went to the bottom of the world and came back ready to change it.