Cape Town - Seven young people concluded a 1643km walk for the disabled, just in time to mark the end of Youth Month 2019.
Members of the youth-led NPO, Enabling Disability Education Nationally (Eden), travelled from Durban to Cape Town and arrived in the city on Friday after a 13-day walk to raise R500000.
Omphile Mangwagape, 32, Dennis Tolo, 30, Samuel Modise, 27, Sithokozile Msomi, 29, Brian Makama, 28, Sylvester Myambo, 28, Xolani Bala, 27 and Lulama Bala, 27, realised the biggest challenge facing South Africans with disabilities is limited access to education, followed by unemployment and lack of appropriate healthcare.
The group said they sought “to encourage hope for people living with mental and physical challenges by helping them access education”.
Modise said the charity campaign, Walk For Youth Disability Education (#Walk4YDE19) was aimed at raising investment for inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for youth with disabilities in South Africa.
Though the walkers have fallen short of their target, they have collected R106000, which will be split between Fanang Diatla Centre for the Disabled and Kusasa Lethu Trust.
Video: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
In 2017, the group walked 600km from Tshwane to Durban over 16 days and collected over R170 000.
A large portion of the proceeds was donated to the Transoranje School for the Deaf in Tshwane and the Fanang Diatla Centre for the Disabled in Temba.