Wits students recently pushed themselves to the limit during a gruelling 100km trek through Nottingham Road, using the endurance challenge to raise funds and awareness around human trafficking and the exploitation of children.
The Wits Adventure and Environmental Society (WAES) took part in the Notties 100, an endurance event forming part of the Breaking the Darkness campaign in support of Unchain Our Children, a South African organisation working to combat human trafficking, the prostitution of minors and other human rights violations.
The WAES team raised more than R26 000 for the cause.
The 100km route was divided into four 25km sections, with participants given six hours to complete each leg.
Rain made the first half of the route particularly challenging, while low cloud settled over the second half.
Of the 16 participants who started the challenge, three completed the full 100km, while the remaining participants completed significant portions of the route.
However, the organisers intended the event to be about more than endurance.
At the end of each 25km section, participants lit a candle and wrote a letter addressed to someone experiencing the kind of “darkness” the campaign sought to confront.
The ritual provided an opportunity for reflection and solidarity with people affected by trafficking and exploitation.
For the WAES participants, the difficult conditions also offered an opportunity to reflect on the difference between temporary physical discomfort and the prolonged experiences faced by people affected by trafficking and exploitation.
Unchain Our Children was founded nine years ago and works to combat human trafficking, the prostitution of minors and other human rights violations. The organisation also assists in bringing victims to places of safety.
For WAES, a society centred on adventure and the outdoors, the Notties 100 offered a way to combine a physical challenge with fundraising and awareness.
Each kilometre completed formed part of an effort to draw attention to an issue that can often remain hidden from public view.
The students’ fundraising effort has contributed more than R26 000 towards the campaign in support of Unchain Our Children.
