Johannesburg - A South African fitness entrepreneur and a priest are on Saturday set to begin a month-long Unity Walk spanning 1 000km across four countries.
Biokineticist Dwain Swiegers and Father Stephen Tully will trek through mountains, forests, beaches, dirt roads and water crossings as they aim to raise funds for a new, non-profit company Gyms4Africa as they aim at bringing wellness centres to rural communities.
The pair’s month-long journey will include venturing through Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa and Mozambique.
The Unity Walk will officially kick off this weekend from the Sani Pass in Lesotho and Swiegers and Tully will proceed to climb Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest mountain in southern Africa.
They will then continue to the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal along the coastline to Mozambique and their journey is expected to come to an end on May 23 in Eswatini, after their pair cover a total distance of approximately 1 000km.
Tully is thrilled to be a part of this worthwhile venture as he and Swiegers hope to raise awareness and funds for health-related issues.
He is currently stationed at the Napier Centre for Healing near Verulam in KwaZulu-Natal, which offers residential care for recovering drug abusers.
Meanwhile, Swiegers, a biokineticist and the founder of Gyms4Africa, is also proud to be part of the initiative.
“Lifestyle diseases such as these can be prevented just by treating your body well,” he said.
“Gyms4Africa aims to address three primary areas of concern: Basic human essential needs like food and clean drinking water, access to a space conducive to moving well and understanding why we need to move.”
The founder of the largest biokineticist group in South Africa added that exercise provides a range of benefits and this is something he is passionate about sharing.
“Treating your body well and exercising are not to grow big biceps; it’s to rid the body of harmful toxins and condition our body so that our joints, ligaments, bones and tendons heal well and recover,” he said.
“When we look after our body by eating, drinking water and exercising, and adopt movement as medicine – as part of our lifestyle and social culture – that all happens naturally, which is what we are focusing on in our centres.”
Both Swiegers and Tully are using The Unity Walk to highlight the importance of exercise, rural healthcare and the new Gyms4Africa charity organisation to raise funds and other support for the project.
“We have a pandemic in Africa where millions of Africans are dying unnecessarily from NCDs (non-communicable diseases),” said Swiegers.
“Our main purpose is to educate and give opportunities to disadvantaged communities.”
Gyms4Africa also plans to set up light steel-frame construction facilities in poor and isolated communities, where there is no access to clean drinking water.
“The simple structures will offer clean drinking water, either from boreholes or water-from-air machines; seed drop and collection points, providing training on self-sustainable farming; health-promotion material on issues such as sleep, diet and wound-cleaning; and fitness equipment for strength and conditioning exercises,” said Swiegers.
He also believes the gyms, which will initially be focused on deep rural areas, will be life-changing for those who use it as they will offer opportunities for community members and the youth to get involved in health and fitness.
“It will also give them the chance to help communities understand how to live healthier lives that promote longevity and well-being.”
For more information and to donate to the cause, visit the Gyms4Africa website here: https://gyms4africa.com.
You can also follow the Unity Walk’s progress on Facebook.