MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A group of young leaders, who are being mentored under the Be a Nelson movement, met Mossel Bay Mayor Dirk Kotzé before they set off on the St Blaize trail from Cecil Shepherd Street to Pinnacle Point today.
For some of the group, it was their first time in Mossel Bay.
Nico de Klerk
Internationally recognised speaker, author and entrepreneurial coach, Nico de Klerk, is leading the group.
He started the Be a Nelson movement, which encourages young people to adopt the attributes of Nelson Mandela.
Also joining the group of walkers are Europeans, who are social innovators.
They are part of the MasterPeace initiative.
MasterPeace walks have taken place in Kenya and Nepal before, but this is the first MasterPeace walk in South Africa.
Inspiring
The European walkers will be inspiring and motivating the young leaders during the walk. The youths are from different provinces of South Africa and countries in Africa.
The group will be walking to Jongensfontein over the next few days. The Cecil Shepherd Street to Pinnacle Point walk is the first part of the walk.
Mossel Bay resident Gerrie van Deventer, who is the Pilgrimage of Hope coordinator in the Mossel Bay area, is accompanying the group from Mossel Bay to Jongensfontein. They plan to arrive in Jongensfontein on 13 March.
Pilgrimage of Hope
Van Deventer coordinates Pilgrimage of Hope walks including the one from the St Blaize Lighthouse to Agulhas. This is called the Lighthouse Pilgrimage of Hope walk.
The young walkers and the mayor met at Van Deventer's home before Van Deventer, De Klerk, the MasterPeace walkers and the young leaders being mentored all set off for Pinnacle Point. Each of the young people introduced themselves and told a bit about themselves and then the mayor gave them a few words of encouragement.
Self knowledge
The MasterPeace walks are about self knowledge and spiritual and cultural development, De Klerk told Mossel Bay Advertiser in a previous interview.
He wrote the book, No fit: My 1,700mile Walk from Apartheid, which tells the story of his walk from Pretoria to Cape Town in 2018, through more than 100 townships, giving workshops.
Mayor Dirk Kotzé, his wife Riettë (front, right) and Gerrie van Deventer (second from left) with the young leaders. Photo: Linda Sparg
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