POLOKWANE – The walk between Musina and Cape Town takes approximately 384 Hours and 13 minutes. This will cover 1 921km and will span from September through to November. However, this is nothing compared to the suffering and trouble that Mariandra Heunis and her four children had to go through.
The walk stems from a brutal farm attack in which Johann Heunis was murdered.
The attack happened on 1 October 2016, on their farm in Leeuwfontein, Pretoria. Johann was shot six times in front of his oldest daughter, Mieke (now seven). His son, André Johann (AJ), was born five days after his funeral.
His wife, Mariandra, was left alone with Mieke, Mischa (now five), Majandré (almost three) and André Johan.
“The attackers left with only our cell phones. They also shot at Mieke, who offered her piggy bank for them. We had to leave the house that morning with nothing, no money, no home, no future. I had to make decisions. I could not let the evil win. Johann’s death cannot be meaningless. But being a widow with four little children is not easy. The responsibility of their future, our new life that I have to put together, while trying to keep the children’s broken hearts and my own together, is tough. But we are doing it. Step by step. Day by day. My children should believe in a pretty life. What happened to us doesn’t make us who we are, how we react on it, does. “
Hendré Papenfus, a resident from Centurion, launched the Non-Profit Organisation, Warriors 4 Christ. They will walk the ‘Warrior Walk’ from Musina, starting on 4 September at Laerskool Messina, to Cape Town where they will arrive on 25 November.
The reason for the walk is to create awareness about violence that leaves everything in desolation. It is also a way to raise funds for mothers like Mariandra, who was left without a husband and a father because of sincere violence.
The Warrior Walk will take the following route:
Depart: Musina on 4 September
Louis Trichardt
Polokwane
Centurion
Klerksdorp
Kimberley
Arrive: Durbanville on 25 November
For more information or to take part contact Mariandra Heunis at mariandra@ssfg.co.za or Hendré Papenfus at 082 665 4255.
