The director and church spokesperson for the Rev Dr Sam Buti Walk, elder Harvey Phalatse of the City of Johannesburg has called on Alexandrians to come out in their numbers to honour the township’s late iconic leader.
Phalatse, elder of the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa, Alexandra branch, said the multitudes of walkers on 10 September will not only celebrate the life of the township stalwart but will also be contributing to a worthy cause.
The 7km memorial walk, which has received the blessing of Buti’s wife, Mary, will be a fundraising event for the church. They hope to raise R100 000 towards the completion of renovations currently underway at the 5th Avenue church where Buti ministered for several decades.
The walk, which costs R50 for adults and R20 for under 12s, will start at the church and end at the Altrec Sports Ground in Eastbank, where family entertainment awaits. There will be music and good food for adults, and jumping castles and face painting for the kiddies.
“It is more of a family day than a simple walk, with entertainment galore and, hence, I call on all the people of the township to come in their numbers to support the worthy cause and pay homage to the amazing influence Buti had, and which he so unselfishly bestowed on the church and the community of Alexandra,” Phalatse said.
Buti died in 2010 and was buried in the township he so loved and described as ‘not merely a backyard to the leafy and wealthy Sandton or its labour pool, but a jewel which I hope will always be remembered as a black triumph against apartheid’.
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