A total of 67 walkers, including two pensioners aged between 61 and 69, began their second Annual Long Walk to Fitness yesterday.
“The walkers will once more be on the road for 10 days, from July 1 to 10, covering a distance of 320 kilometers from Pretoria to Mbombela. This year’s walk is themed ‘Walk for Madiba and Education’. It is aimed at raising R300 000 to cater for the enrolment and tuition fees of six grade 12 learners for their first year at varsity in the year 2020,” explained Joe Mashaba, founder of the group.
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He says the walkers will be on the road from 06:00 to 11:00 and again from 13:45 to 18:00 daily to cover a distance of about 34 to 37 kilometers.
“ In acknowledging Madiba as a leader who was keen on education, the walkers invites all citizens of the country to sponsor the education of six grade 12 learners. We hope to enrol six best-performing learners from the province at the University of Mpumalanga. By being at UMP we as Lowveld Walkers would be able to monitor their progress and offer them continued support and guidance when needed,” he said.
The Walkers will make a stop in Witbank and take time to visit an old age home and orphanage centre. The second town to pass through will be Middelburg, where they will also visit Bethesda Place to assist in the works of the day.
They would lastly visit a drop-in centre and an old age home in Waterval Boven as their third sharing in the charitable works done in the province of Mpumalanga.
They are expected to reach Nelspruit on day 10 of their walking, around 13:00.
