Young entrepreneurs to walk 600km to raise money for disabled

Young people with disabilities are often excluded from mainstream society due to their limited access to the physical environment – including public transportation, education and other facilities.

And for some of them even completing a standard academic schedule is a struggle. Now three young social entrepreneurs will embark on the #WalkForYouthDisabilityEducation to raise money.

It is a 600km journey from Tshwane to Durban, and starts on Wednesday at the Transoranje School for the Deaf.

Omphile Mangwagape, Dennis Tolo and Samuel Modise, of Enabling Disability Education Nationally NPC (Eden), will be accompanied by six colleagues on their journey.

Wheelchair-bound Botlhale Mongake is going along and is super-excited. They will walk at least nine hours a day, for 15 days. The aim is to collect R2 000 per kilometre walked.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Transoranje School for the Deaf and the Fanang Diatla Centre for the Disabled in Temba. Eden is a non-profit organisation dedicated to finding poverty reduction solutions for young people living with disabilities, with a key focus on education.

The organisation’s co-founder and CEO, Mangwagape, who has a mild cognitive impairment, which makes him forget easily and forces him to write down everything, says they are very excited to start their journey.

To make a donation, contact Samuel Modise on 082-510-0432 or e-mail sammy75modise@gmail.com, or go to www.thundafund.com/project/eden