Saturday, 17 April saw the Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Geoffrey Makhubo, joining a 22km dedication walk for the Ward 89 survivors of gender-based violence.
The gruelling walk of courage commenced at 7am at the Clearwater Mall parking lot, with Councillor Amelia Bester and founder of the Yellow For Survivors NGO, Leilani Kuter among the participants.
According to one of the participants, Lethu Buleni from Allen’s Nek, GBV can be considered a sensitive subject at times, as knowing how it has affected many lives and thinking what can be done about it can leave one feeling helpless.
“When I saw the invite on my community WhatsApp group about ‘The prayer walk against GBV’, I thought to myself this could actually be a good start – to pray and meditate while taking a walk, sending a message to God, that we hear of it, we know it happens and it doesn’t stop; all the while praying that God may help those who can’t help themselves get out of abusive environments.
“Thanks to the organisers for doing such a great job. It was fun, safe and easy to do; will definitely do it again,” said Lethu.
Amelia told Northsider that the walk was for GBV survivors and victims who reside in Ward 89, and for those who travel along the main arterials to get to and from work.
“I am overcome with gratitude for the dedication walk we did with the Mayor and Yellow For Survivors this morning.
“The event would not have been possible without the great assistance of JMPD. Heartfelt thanks goes out to each participant who undertook the 22km prayer walk with us today.
“The support from the Mayor’s Office is truly impressive and we even got an opportunity to talk about service delivery,” said Amelia.
This walk was aimed at raising awareness about gender-based violence as a gross violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of victims of abuse who are entitled to the full enjoyment of their rights free from any form of violence.
“South Africa has one of the highest GBV rates in the world, with the femicide rate that is reportedly five times higher than the global average statistics.
“It was a pleasure to be involved in this positive engagement, and thanks for the invite. We wish all survivors of GBV strength. I really enjoyed the walk,” said Makhubo.
Rape survivor and activist, Leilani Kuter who is no stranger to walking long gruelling distances in the name of women expressed her gratitude to the organisers and all who attended.
“I would like to say thank you to everyone who participated in our walk; it is always great to get support from the community.
“Unfortunately most of us know someone who’s been affected by GBV and it’s an honour to walk for those survivors.
“It was a great pleasure to have the Mayor there, and I would like to say a big thank you to Councillor Bester for putting this together,” said Leilani.
