Hilton College pupils embarked on a ‘Run for Africa, Run for Lives’ initiative to raise funds for the Toti-based NPO, the Domino Foundation.
“The Hilton College community aims to do more than ‘stay active’ in these uncertain times. As Hiltonians, we are encouraged to look beyond ourselves,” said Grade 12 pupil, Luke Lourenco.
The young men felt it was their responsibility to find ways to help those most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown and so rallied family and friends to support their cause.
In what was termed a ‘collective run’, the pupils either sprinted or took a more leisurely pace to complete 11 172km, the total distance from Cape Town to Africa’s northernmost point, Ras Ben Sakka, in northern Tunisia on the Mediterranean. This gave each Hilton boy 22,3km to cover. By the end of May, the thousands of kilometres had been clocked up and a total of R135 000 had been raised.
The funds were donated to three charities the Hilton learners had nominated, each receiving R45 000: The Domino Foundation, Ithemba Projects, based in the Sweetwaters community near King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape, and the Witkoppen Clinic, Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.
Luke said his sister Melissa, a pupil at Maris Stella, had spent time at Domino doing community service and had enthused about the work the foundation is doing in its eight programmes, which make a difference to the lives of more than 12 000 people every day.
“I was inspired by what Melissa told me and really felt that it would be a great idea if our ‘Run for Africa’ could contribute to what the foundation is doing, particularly through its relief aid programme during lockdown.”
Domino marketing manager, Karen Brokensha, said in recognition of the young men’s sterling effort, “It has been so inspirational to hear of the whole Hilton community coming together to make a significant difference in the lives of vulnerable people in our country.”
She encouraged other groups who would like to join together with Domino to be the change they would like to see in South Africa to call her on 031-563-9605 or email karen@domino.org.za.
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