Businessman, 91, didn't let his age limit him
A 91-YEAR-OLD Joburg businessman has refused to let age limit him with a remarkable feat of completing a 100km charity walk that raised R2 million to help feed vulnerable communities.
Solly Krok, a co-founder of the Apartheid Museum in Soweto and philanthropist, celebrated his 91st birthday on May 28.
The nonagenarian walked 1km for each year of his life, with the aim of raising R108m from international and local donors to help feed those who are less fortunate.
Krok said: “It’s of great concern for me to see the increased poverty that has mushroomed overnight as people are not able to work or support their families.
“The sad thing is that before the pandemic a large portion of the South African population was already poor and, sadly, even after the pandemic is quelled by the discovery of a vaccine and medication, the poor will still be poor.”
The campaign, called Keep the Wolf from the Door, in partnership with non-profit organisations Afrika Tikkun and Siyakhana, started last month and ended yesterday afternoon after the determined Krok exceeded his initial financial target and pushed himself to complete the 100km.
Speaking to The Star yesterday, when he was 3km away from the 100km charity walk target, Krok said that he did not exercise at all before taking on the challenge.
“But I had a positive mindset to achieve my goal and I even exceeded it,” he happily exclaimed.
The philanthropist added that the beginning of the symbolic walk was gruelling because he had trouble staying motivated.
However, his mindset changed once he had completed about 45km because he could see progress.
“In any endeavour, whether academic or in business, you’ve got to be able to see the goal and take small steps to get there and grow from that,” he said.
“For the first 24 days, the best I could do was 2km a day, but by the 25th day, I started getting three and then four, five and some six kilometres.
“That was an incredible achievement but it took some energy. But I had a positive mindset, I had to get there and I’ve achieved my target,” he said.
Krok added that the plan to provide immediate and long-term assistance was inspired by the saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.
“I am determined to make a long-term difference by coupling our programme with sustainable food banks,” he said.
By yesterday afternoon, the challenge had raised about R2m and food parcels, primarily to support children and the elderly.
This will be rolled out using a systematic approach with the participation of the impacted communities to address poverty and hunger.
Krok said he believed that interventions such as these needed to be done with a strong sense of unity and collaboration from all.
“I would like other people to donate, even if it is a small amount. For example, if I can get 3 350 people to each give $18 (R304.41), I would raise R108m.”
Krok added that he was thinking about doing another challenge where he asked other elderly people across the world to walk 1km to raise money.