Stomping out gender based violence

Three years ago, with just R170 in his pocket, Jan Mabuyakhulu embarked on a fund-raising journey relying on just his feet and shear determination in hopes of raising money to build a place of safety for abused woman and children.

The Mtubatuba born man, began his journey by walking from his home town to Johannesburg and has since walked thousands of kilometers committed to fight the scourge of gender based violence.

“I noticed that woman and children from my home town were being abused. There were many cases of rape and no one was doing anything about it. These people also had nowhere to go to,” said Mabuyakhulu.

Being unemployed at the time, he decided to be the first in his community to take a stand.

“I thought it was a good cause and instead of sitting at home and doing nothing, I decided to star walking.”

The selfless walker has endured harsh weather conditions and often had no accommodation or food.

“I walked on national roads without proper shoes. When I couldn’t walk anymore I would seek accommodation at local police stations, until the morning where I could walk again. I relied on the good will of people for food and refreshments.”

After his best efforts, the campaign finally took off when Mabuyakulu was interviewed by the SABC on May 3. In a matter of a few days, the campaign has gained an overwhelming amount of publicity.

On his way back to Durban, Mabuyakulu received a warm welcome from KwaMama care centre and taking a bit of worry off his plate, the local hero was sponsored accommodation at the Regal Inn in Ballito by Mtubatuba Municipality. Food and refreshments has been sponsored by Engen garage and Runners Sport Zone shared the cost with Slimline Pools in sponsoring running shoes.

The journey is far from over for Mabuyakhulu as with a lack of awareness in the past, the campaign has only managed to raise R3000 so far, but potential sponsors are on its way.

“I am overwhelmed by the support of the Ballito community. I have never met people with such big hearts.”

Mabuyakhulu will walk from Ballito to Umhlanga on May 10, he thereafter plans to take a well deserved rest before setting off to Port Shepstone next month.

Anyone interested in supporting the campaign can contact Jan on 082 711 4506.

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