500 miles and more for charity
Pietermaritzburg resident Roy Brown walked the talk when he stopped over in Knysna earlier this week as part of his commitment to cross South Africa on foot in support of charity.
Brown (38), a resident of Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, is a father of three and an ambassador for both Families SA (Famsa) Pietermaritzburg and Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social
Action (Pacsa) – the two organisations benefiting from Brown’s charitable journey. He chose these two organisations because of the special place they hold in his heart, and also due to the fantastic work they do for the Pietermaritzburg communities, he said.
In preparation, the securitysystems technician trained by walking about 30km a day for a number of months, while also taking part in the Collegians Clubs Longest Day in Pietermaritzburg where he completed 65km in 12 hours.
Brown embarked on his challenging venture on 1 August from the starting line of the Comrades Marathon, with a goal to complete his journey across South Africa in only 32 days. Things didn’t go according to plan for Brown, however, as unforeseen personal circumstances meant he had to take two breaks from his journey, but he was nevertheless committed to his goal of raising R1-million for Famsa and Pacsa, and he pushed on.
This determination saw Brown walk as far as Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, before finally making his way into Knysna on Monday 2 September after stopping over in Plettenberg Bay.
For his Knysna stay, Island Vibe sponsored his accommodation until Friday 6 September, when he was due to set off for George as the next stop on his journey to Cape Town. From there his plan is to pass through the Karoo, then to East London, Durban, and finally back home to Pietermaritzburg. Brown estimated he still had 20 to 25 days of walking left to complete his journey. Brown’s wife Jessica has been travelling behind him with their eight-month-old son Roy Jr as his support crew while he pushes on.
He is continuously in search of sponsors and contributors to his cause, so if you’d like to do your bit and help, you can contact Famsa and Pacsa for more information.