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The launch of Thuli Madonsela's Pilgramage of Hope was eventful – in many good ways.
At the end of a particularly beautiful day in the Boland – day one of Thuli Madonsela's Pilgrimage of Hope – we gathered on the lawn under a beautiful old oak in the Banhoek Valley, where the Prof had the final say for the day.
Madonsela, former Public Protector and current director of the Centre for Social Justice at Stellenbosch University - who takes on walks for causes as vigourously as she took on state capturers - started this pilgrimage in support of #Action4Inclusion, which is a Stellenbosch University initiative aimed at ensuring academic inclusion and clearing historical debt for all deserving students.
"Walking is good for our health. It's good for our mental health, and it even makes us smarter. But more importantly, we are agents of hope," she said about the fundraising walk of 300km from Stellenbosch to Cape Agulhas.
READ | Goodbye robes, hello boots! Thuli Madonsela starts her 300km walk for hope and students
About 60 of us took the road with Madonsela from the town centre of Stellenbosch last Saturday, and wound our way through the town, stopping at places of historical and ecological importance. And for snacks.
From town, we headed out through Idas Valley to Helshoogte, and all the way down to Kylemore, where we were met, and were escourted by, Oom Japie Kapokkie se Brass Band to the shady oak and a basket of koesisters.
After thanking everyone for being willing to be called up for country duty for the day, she ended with a quote from Margaret Mead:
She wants those who showed up on Saturday to walk 14.5km with her to remember this quote from the famous cultural anthopologist when they decide who to vote for in next year's election.
Madonsela suggests we vote:
We said goodbye and headed for the bus back to Stellenbosch, but Madonsela's day of duty was not over yet. She still had to hike about 3.5km to the Pniel Museum, and there was more country duty for her along the way.
Somewhere along the way to Pniel, the team reached the Banghoek River. But the bridge had been washed away. They had to crawl on their hands and knees over the remains of the structure, and while maneuvering though the branches of a fallen tree, hiking guide Eon Henriks' South African flag fell into the river.
As a true protector of all things South African, Madonsela did not hesitate for a moment. She grabbed a stick and rescued the flag from the torrent.
"I was curious about Thuli's appetite for risk when we reached the broken bridge over the Banghoek River," says Erns Grundling, organiser of the Pilgrimage. "But it had nothing to do with risk, or being 'bang', but rather a conviction and commitment to walk every inch of this Pilgrimage of Hope, even if it means to crawl over a skew concrete slab.
"This symbolised her mantra of building bridges of hope and friendship during this walk and fundraiser for #Action4Inclusion. But that's not the only symbolism. When Eon's flag fell in the water, Thuli reacted swiftly with a stick and 'saved' our flag, while she was keeping her balance in a rather precarious position."
He added:
The pilgrimage resumes in October, when Madonsela walks the remaining 270km from Franschhoek to Cape Agulhas in 13 days. She will be joined during these stages by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and CEOs.
Details on where to book your spot will be available soon. If you want to make a donation to #Action4Inclusion, click here.
