Students, entrepreneurs, community members, retired teachers and even a cancer survivor walked step in step with Stellenbosch University (SU) chair of social justice Professor Thuli Madonsela over the weekend of 19 and 20 August, as she embarked on the 300km Pilgrimage of Hope from Stellenbosch to Cape Agulhas.

The journey was intended to raise funds for the #Action4Inclusion campaign, spearheaded by SU’s Centre for Social Justice, to clear historic debt owed to the university by students from poor and working-class families, and ultimately to ensure the registration of all students.

“This walk is about igniting hope in our nation and leveraging the goodness within us against darkness,” Madonsela said.

“This image of hope is focusing on a small issue with huge consequences for people, student debt, to stop historical student debt from being an obstacle to students continuing their studies.”

The Pilgrimage of Hope is an established route intended to expose participants to the diverse communities and rich histories of the Western Cape region.

On Saturday 19 August, the Pilgrimage of Hope started in Stellenbosch, with Thuli Madonsela and the participants walking 15 km to Pniel. (Photo: Brenton Geach)

From Stellenbosch to Pniel

The walk began on Saturday, 19 August, with a gruelling 15km trek from Rhenish Church, Stellenbosch, to the small town of Pniel. The group walked through vulnerable communities in which many student beneficiaries of #Action4Inclusion grew up.

Madonsela said the cause was especially close to her heart because her education would have ended in Grade 10 had donors not paid for her to finish her schooling, as well as to pursue her tertiary education.

As they moved through Idas Valley in Stellenbosch, Eon Hendrikse, who grew up there, reflected on being unable to complete his studies owing to funding issues, and how, after meeting Madonsela, she encouraged him to come back and raise funds for his tuition through hiking and the #Action4Inclusion campaign.

Hendrikse was one of the first students to benefit from the campaign, which he said is sorely needed to ensure social justice and healing for those members of local communities who were forcibly removed during apartheid to make way for buildings that SU still uses. Now he is an integral part of the fundraiser and an ambassador for SU’s Centre for Social Justice.

Another participant, cancer survivor Pat Davidson from Helderberg, reflected on healing and contributions towards social justice. She said she wanted to give back and help students who could not afford to pay their fees.

“One of my other reasons for hiking today is to thank God for the fact that I can actually hike. I had breast cancer seven years ago and everything was clear when suddenly, two years ago, it came back just after my 70th birthday,” Davidson said.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Davidson’s breast cancer metastasised and she was barely able to walk down the stairs, but she was able to regain her strength through continuing treatment.

The first day of the pilgrimage ended in the small village of Kylemore, where a brass band played while walking alongside the group for the last few kilometres.

For the last few kilometres of Day 1, Thuli Madonsela and participants of the pilgrimage were joined by a boisterous band from the Kylemore village to help see them through to the end point. (Photo: Brenton Geach)

From Pniel to Franschhoek

Day two of Madonsela’s journey started at the Pniel Museum, a space that commemorates the history of this small town as a former mission station, established in 1843 for freed slaves.

About 50 people gathered to take part in the second leg of the pilgrimage. They were greeted by Reverend Leon Klate of Pniel Congregational Church, who drew attention to the nearby Freedom Monument – a dove sculpture representing the abolition of slavery – and the rich history of the town.

“This year we are celebrating 180 years in the life of this church, of this town, after the emancipation of slaves. Land was given for freed slaves for a church, a place of worship … and the whole town then developed around the church and around the school and education,” he said.

“When you walk this valley, we want you to remember that it is here that we need to experience what it means to be free.”

Over the course of the 18km walk from Pniel to La Provence Wine Estate, near Franschhoek, the group passed many acres of Cape Winelands farmland. They briefly joined the congregation at St George’s Church in Groot Drakenstein, where Reverend Wilfred Meyer wished them well.

Tendani Tshauambea, a postgraduate law student from SU, said: “I am joining Prof Madonsela’s Pilgrimage of Hope walk to contribute in my small way to addressing the wider issue of historic debt.

“Furthermore, it’s a personal journey for me, as I struggled for the past two years to register due to outstanding debt, and I understand the frustrations and hardships that myself and fellow students suffer through to … register, but also to graduate.”

Another participant, Malebo Magasa, told Daily Maverick she had travelled all the way from Johannesburg to join the first two days of walking. Her company, Tawana Construction, has started a foundation to help students to acquire books, data and tuition, and to pay for other needs.

“It’s always been in me to believe I can do something … Thuli Madonsela is one of those people I have a high respect for as a professor and also as a public protector before. I was encouraged to join her – I believe this initiative, for her, is really coming from the heart, which it also is for me,” Magasa said. DM

This article first appeared in our Daily Maverick weekly newspaper, DM168, which is available countrywide for R29.