Maritzburg Sun (South Africa)

WALKING FOR ACCESS TO EDUCATION

- Jade le Roux

Agroup of students from various universiti­es around the country are walking from Durban to Pretoria raising funds for their fellow students who are battling with historical student debt.

Walk4Acces­s is made up of ten students hoping to raise R1.5 million for other students whose pursuit of tertiary education degrees are stalled by financial stress.

Some of the walkers have experience­d the financial stresses of student debt, and one has even previously been assisted by Walk4Acces­s’s fundraisin­g walk from Cape Town to Pretoria in 2019.

In 2019, the students

managed to raise R100

000 that assisted ten students with settling their historical student debt. This year, to make up for the lost time due to Covid-19, and noting the added financial burden the pandemic has had, the team is raising its fundraisin­g stakes even higher.

“R1.5 million sounds like a lot, but we just need 50 000 people to donate only R21 and we’ll have reached our target,” explained Yuvan Shunmugam.

The walkers set off from Durban on Tuesday morning, visiting local schools en route as part of their fundraisin­g awareness and empowering youth, especially girls, to pursue their education.

They arrived in

Pietermari­tzburg on Tuesday at lunch time, and visited Pietermari­tzburg Girls’

High School. This morning (Wednesday), as they journey on towards Estcourt and Ladysmith, they will pay a visit to Arthur Blaxall School in Mountain Rise, and Hilton College.

You can follow their journey on social media on Facebook or Instagram: @ walk4acces­s

If anyone would like to donate the minimum amount of R21 to their cause, the banking details are: Walk4acces­s

Standard Bank

Current Account 1014888122­8

Branch: 000205

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 ??  ?? The Walk4Acces­s team were given a guard of honour by Pietermari­tzburg Girls’ High School matric learners when they visited the school on Tuesday afternoon. The ten university students are walking from Durban Girls’ High to Pretoria Girls’ High as part of their fundraisin­g and education awareness campaign.
The Walk4Acces­s team were given a guard of honour by Pietermari­tzburg Girls’ High School matric learners when they visited the school on Tuesday afternoon. The ten university students are walking from Durban Girls’ High to Pretoria Girls’ High as part of their fundraisin­g and education awareness campaign.

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