A Long Walk for Children

A Long Walk for Children has ended!  It has been an incredible journey and one that I’ll never forget .  John Ruskin once said that “the highest reward for a person’s work is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.”  I am not sure what I’ve become through this experience, but as  I come to the end of the walk and the daily blog entry, I am filled with two emotions, gratitude and a strengthened sense of commitment.   I will expand upon those here.

1)       Gratitude.  This is the overwhelming emotion I have felt these past few days.  I am grateful for so many things, including:

·         That we made it in 700 miles (1100 km) in safety in 30 days with no injuries or accidents

·         That our generous donors have helped us reach our fundraising goal of $250,000 (2 million rand)

·         That so many friends and family provided constant encouragement along the way

·         That the Rotary clubs of South Africa responded so magnificently, especially the East London Sunrise Club

·         That my employer, Morgan Stanley, and my clients supported this and allowed my six week absence

·         That we will be able to expand our services to another 40-50 children in the next few years!

·         That our children and staff had a remarkable journey to Cape Town that they will never forget

·         That I will be able to return to my own family in one piece!

·         Lastly, that God has blessed this project in so many ways.

I want all of you reading this to know that none of this would have happened without you.  When I write that this was a collective effort, I am making the understatement of the year!   Everyone involved, including those of you who donated, those you of you who prayed for us and those who supported this in any way should feel great about the impact that you are making on children’s lives.  On the blog, I have shared with you some of our children’s stories.  In so many ways, they are heart-breaking.   But thanks to you, our kids now have love, hope and opportunity in their lives.  This is a great gift to our children and a source of tremendous joy for our donors and friends.    

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

2)       Commitment.  As this journey ends, I know that the work is just beginning!  There are so many children without homes, so much that we can do to expand this ministry.  With every step I made, I knew that there would be more journeys ahead and much more work to do.  That is both challenging and exciting.  Now that the walk is finished, I feel that commitment even more strongly. 

As many of you know, we called this “A Long Walk for Children” because the autobiography of Nelson Mandela is called “Long Walk to Freedom.”  I can in no way compare my journey to Mr. Mandela’s lifetime of heroic action.   A 700 mile walk does not mean anything compared to a lifetime of work to bring justice to 45 million people.  However, at the end of his autobiography, Mr. Mandela ends by writing  a paragraph that in many ways  echoes my feelings today and so I thought I’d share it with you:

“I have walked that long road to freedom.  I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way.  But I have discovered the  secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.  I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.  But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”

And so, I finish this  blog the same way that I started it -- with a photo of a child.  This photo was taken of a child who I came across in a township named Duncan Village in East London, South Africa.  I was on a tour of the area and came across her sleeping on a mattress on a dirt floor in a tiny shack.  Her greatly emaciated mother was standing in the yard.  I instantly wanted to take the child to Open Arms because she was certainly in a precarious situation.  But we cannot take in children without a court order so I merely put my hand on her forehead, said a brief prayer for her and took this photo because I did not want to forget the moment.

 

A year later, I was walking in the same area with some of our board members and came across the tiny shack.  Not forgetting my experience a year earlier, I asked what had happened to that child and her mother.  I  was told:  “They didn’t make it.  They both died of AIDS.” 

I think about that child often and did so many times on a journey across a beautiful land.  I thought about how she died and whether she suffered greatly.  I also think about what she might have become if we had reached her.  A wife and mother?  A good friend?  A person of faith?  A source of inspiration to others?  We’ll never know.

But as I think about her now, I think about so many children like her and I know that she did not die in vain.  She is still with us in memory, and still with us in the important work that we will carry on in the months and years ahead.  Her journey is over, but ours continues with all the love and commitment we can give it. 

May God bless you all.  I look forward to continuing our work with you on the journey ahead.  There are many more hills to climb and so much is riding on the result. 

Bob Solis

Signing off on September 14, 2008

Well, today was the last day of the walk – and what a special day it was.  All of us will remember it for a very long time.   The day featured some fun activities and a meaningful visit to Robben Island – all under beautiful blue skies with a high around 80 degrees (very unusual for winter in Cape Town – God was looking out for us!).  We went to the waterfront Aquarium to start the day, enjoyed a lunch at Subway on the waterfront and then headed to Robben Island, the place of imprisonment of Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment.  A Long Walk for Children officially ended outside of his cell and we had a brief but very meaningful ceremony to mark the occasion.  The photos tell the story better than I can so here you go!

 

 

We started at 9:30 am by visiting the Cape Town Aquarium.  

We were all decked out in our A Long Walk t-shirts and 

ready for a big day.

There's nothing like seeing the creatures of the deep without 

scuba gear.

Our staff and kids were very glad there was an enclosure 

separating us from this eel.

Asekhona and Zimkhita loved getting in one of the tanks

 ... or at least it looks that way!

Namhla looking a bit crabby!

The kids at staff began formulating their own fish stories 

for the folks back home in Komga.

Run for your lives!  A bull shark is headed our way!

After the Aquarium, we headed over to the V&A Waterfront 

Mall and took this group photo with the statues of 3 Nobel 

Prize winners from South Africa: Desmond Tutu, F.W. de 

Klerk and Nelson Mandela.  There is much to learn from
these 3 heroes!