Day 5

It’s day 5 - Khuritshe back to Bodungwane to Artesia

I am feeling stiff and sore everywhere but hey we must get to the finish point.
Yesterday I walked,but I was short 14 Km. It was a long 28 km. I was supposed to walk 42 km but I only managed to walk a little more than half of the distance and I tried to push myself but my body would not take it. With each day becoming heavy and difficult for my body I am playing catch up with covering the distance. Each time I do less than expected then it’s more work for the next day 😢😢😭😭

The exciting part is I met two nice people along the road one is a friend from gabs (William Lee) who drove all the way out to drop off some water and food and the second person was One of the farmers in the area I was walking across (Mr Malatsi ).
Each time I saw people I became motivated to walk and get to my goal for that day. But yesterday The heat was extremely exhausting and the gravel road continued to be unkind.

Dear lord I am going to die 😭😭😭😭😭😭
I am trying to walk with a good pace but nothing comes out of it.
I need a walking partner maybe I might walk a little longer if I had someone to walk with .

Day1 —. 37 km ✅
Day 2 — 33 km✅
Day 3—- 41 km ✅
Day 4 —. 18 km ✅
Day 5—- 28 Km✅
Day 6 —— 42 km
Day 7 ——24 km

Day 4

It was my rest day but we decided to go to the nearest school or only primary school in the area to donate done sanitary pads and school supplies

The local school is boarding school within the cattle post to cater for those parents who have to work in the farms around those areas. It accommodates up to 100 children but only 41 children in the whole school.

It just shows how some areas around the country are neglected and lack a lot of amenities to support the population around there.

A wonderful interaction with the children and they were happy to receive some school bags , stationery and sanitary pads. A big achievement for us as managed to share what we had .

The rest of the day was put aside for fixing the escort car and body recovery for me. I had new shoes but I can’t walk anywhere without my escorts especially in unfamiliar territories, so I have to wait for my mum and dad to get sorted.

On this day I had time think about what I left behind, my children and the many applications I had sent out with the hope of positive responses for employment.

I miss my children and due to signal issues I was not able to call and check on them. But at the back of my mind I was at ease because I knew my sister was doing a good job looking after the kids.

It was that day, When I got to sit with my mother and told her how I appreciated their support.

As much as they are my parents, they made a choice to set aside everything and be my escorts for the whole 252 km walk.
It takes a lot of love of support for someone to put their lives on hold and to support their child. I just hope they knew how much I meant what they said, even though they just looked at me like a mad person and said ‘we are your parents, we will do anything for you’

Such words made me tear up cos sometimes we don’t feel that our parent love us, we tend to compare how they treat us to our siblings and then complain. After this walk I will never feel less loved or a complain about anything related to their love and affection .

#motlaletsicharityclub
#buildingcommunitytogether
#252kmwalkforcharity
#parentalloveandsupport

Day 3
Second leg of the walk.
This was a challenge, I managed to do the 27 km last night and it was a struggle and my body was aching and feet just sore.
I have managed to recover today and I believe this evening I will be able to walk. On the other hand the escort car is parked, it won’t move till we get the broken part and replace it.

I got enough massages for the day and I am ready to get it done .
It’s frustrating but it is well expected and it makes the journey memorable.
Let’s see what happens in the coming few days.
Day 4
Today has been a slow day , following the 41 km in day 3 . I walked 27km during the night I have to say it has left me dead. My soles are aching and my knees are just jelly. It calls for a break for the body to try and recover.
A very slow one. But I have managed walk a bit to add on to the kilometers from last night to make the 150 km mark.
Day 4 I literally spent the whole day resting.I managed to only walk 15km,it’s an achievement. Happy days

This girl has managed to walk 150 km of 252 km. The happiness is I am positive even though I hit a pothole today.
#150kmof252km
#padsforgirls
#doingitforgirls

Day 2 - done and dusted

The second leg done and dusted. Day 1 37 km and now day 2 30 km.

The day started off well but started my walk late due to the expectation to see the local chief of Dikgonnye and gosh that was a terrible idea. I am convinced that some people are just never happy to receive assistance from people unless it benefits someone politically.

Anyway the walk was long, the first 18 km was fun. My mother was brave enough to walk the first 15km with me. With her bad knee I am happy that at least she kept me company and journey seemed shorter and easier than anticipated.

The muscles are getting used to the walking and Day 2 I feel good and hopeful that I can make it today.

With this I am just happy to say I am lucky to be doing this with my parents because they are just so wonderful and caring. I feel like a small little baby ha ha .

My reason, purpose and commitment to follow through with this project still remains what it is.

The 67 km I have walked has revealed that the young girls who live in these areas are in cattle posts and far away from services or any human interaction.

The children have to walk a little over 6 km to school and another back to the cattle post. This on its own is a challenge and poses a threat to educating the children.

Therefore I still hope to spread enough information about feminine hygiene so that we may give our girls an elevated opportunity to attend their school lessons without any disruption.

Our girls are the future mothers and leaders of tomorrow.

We have to work together and device ways in which the girl child can be fully protected from any issues of abuse and negligence. Therefore it’s important to provide the basic necessity of a sanitary pad, so that they face any challenge put before them with an open and educated mindset.

Day 1

The journey to spread awareness about feminine hygiene and raise funds for sanitary pads began today and it was a crazy hectic and fun filled 37 kilometres. The walk started at 642 am at Pilane Crossing with a group of hiking friends from Mosepele hiking club, my uncle and his friend and a very good friend of mine.

Not many people came through to see me off but the team of 12 people I had with me made it a very special one. My first ever walk of 252 km journey to raise awareness about feminine hygiene was just brilliant. The team walk walked with me for the first 20 km of the journey and continued to walk the rest of the 17 km on my own. It was a long day but I managed To complete the 37 km.

I started my journey at 6:42 am and completed it At 17:24 pm.

Walking is not for the faint-hearted, it is just painful and exhausting but hey I made a commitment and I will will see it through.

I am grateful to all my friends and family for their support without them I would be able to do any of this . We are definitely building communities together and hoping that my give out what we set out to do.

I have to say camping is fun and I definitely enjoying this time with my parents. My father pitched the tent each day. After the walk, he makes the fire in the morning and evening while my mother cooks and massages me. All I do is walk and sleep at the end of the journey and they do everything. I am just happy that we are doing this together, I wouldn’t have asked for better escorts.

Day one sorted and looking forward to tomorrow.

I went out a different route with the hope to experience something different.

And I got exactly that, the terrain was flat for the first 5 km but thereafter rocky and slopy. The first 9 km were easily done but the 13 km was hard, heavy and painful.

The bush was beautiful and I enjoyed the sound of my feet. And I had an opportunity to think and refresh. 22 km can definitely give you a different perspective on life.

As much as I enjoy walking and preparing for the big day it’s a scary thing that sometimes when I walk I get stupid boys or men try to make advances at me.

I walk alone and I have confidence that I can do more, but these men seem perverted and with vile intentions.

Strong as I am I am afraid that one day something bad might happen. It’s annoying how as a woman walking and doing what I like men feel obliged to tell me I need them in my life or to make my day exciting.

It’s just wrong how we become a target just from simply walking. I wish there was a machine which could detect someone’s thoughts so that it alerts you to run 🏃🏿‍♀️ as far as you can from a certain person for the danger ⚠️ they may impose on you.

Other than that it was a good walk, a total shock to the muscles but definitely good practice.