Bill Wedderburn (89) walks 900km for charity
Wedderburn, who is a resident at Renishaw Hills Estate near Scottburgh, began this drive late last year after contracting Covid-19 in January and thereafter made a full recovery.
Senior citizen Bill Wedderburn (89) has just completed his 900km by 90 years charity drive raising much-needed funds for the families of healthcare workers affected by Covid-19. Wedderburn, who is a resident at Renishaw Hills Estate near Scottburgh, began this drive late last year after contracting Covid-19 in January and thereafter made a full recovery.
He spent a lot of time in hospital and it was during this period that his eyes were opened to the hardships endured by healthcare workers saving lives during the pandemic. Wedderburn lives with chronic kidney disease and is a prostate cancer survivor, so when he was admitted with Covid-19, he knew that he was a high risk patient saved by the dedicated hospital staff.
During his hospitalisation, Wedderburn heard stories about healthcare workers affected by the pandemic and learnt of the death of nurse Hlengiwe Mbeje (36) who died from Covid-19 just before he was admitted. Taking all of this into account and to show how grateful he was for his life, Wedderburn decided to begin his charity drive.
“The funds will go to the families of healthcare workers who died from Covid-19, as many of those families have been left destitute with their breadwinner gone,” he explained. Wedderburn committed to walking 900km before his 90th birthday on June 9 – 100km for every decade of his life.
He worked with a dedicated team for this charity drive which included a practising surgeon, attorney, IT specialist and former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers. The team promoted The Covid Healthcare Workers’ Family Fund. The senior citizen was able to successfully do this drive way ahead of his birthday and while completing the last few kilometres near his home, he was cheered on by supporters and neighbours while Chariots of Fire fittingly played.
“The walk also aided me in recovering from my illness, and I really encourage everyone to get out there and exercise,” he added. “I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed and to the Renishaw Hills community for their greetings and encouraging comments on my daily walks through the village as those really kept me going.”
Wedderburn is now attempting to make the 900km drive a whopping 1000km by his birthday and hopes to gain more supporters.
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