No society can thrive unless the unconditional respect for women is enshrined.
Taking on the biggest challenge South Africa’s men are needing to embrace, The Sylvester Mashilo Foundation(SMF) held an anti gender-based violence(GBV) run on November 26. Beginning and ending at Featherbrooke Village, over 50 runners filled the streets with everything orange as they snaked through the suburbs on a 5 or 10km route. Once the finish lines were crossed, families enjoyed a morning of interactive activities for the children.
The significance of the colour orange is linked to the United Nations’ global initiative against GBV: ‘UNITE’. “This fun run was a reminder that the daily activism is necessary for systemic change. We thank all the participants who each added a colour to the rainbow. Let us continue to each be a part of the solution for a non-violent South Africa,” said Sylvester Mashilo, the foundation’s patriarch.
All proceeds of the run went to SMF’s continued efforts to groom young boys into mature and respectful men. “These last 12 months were important for the long-term sustainability of our national community building project. We were able to understand what it will take to be a sustainable and impactful model that others can model around for scalable impact. In 2023 we have plans to launch our boys mentorship program in Limpopo and KZN. We look forward to getting more South Africans energised for real change,” he added.
Members of the Honeydew Community Police Forum played the role of marshals and kept the runners safe from passing traffic. First across the 5km finish line was Blake Vermaak who collapsed on the tarmac following his draining 20 minute 41 second dash. First 10km finisher was Clinton Kruis in a time of 45 minutes and 30 seconds while the first female finisher was Ruth Kinuthia in 1 hour and 1 second.
Active bodies promote healthy hearts and minds and SMF will continue to use running and physical activity as a vehicle to bring change to the world around them. Saluting all that made 2022 a success, Mashilo said,
“We want to thank our loyal funders and partners in the Ackerman Family Foundation, the parents of our boys, City of Johannesburg and our community of loyal supporters for being by our side this year”.
