Zondani’s 800km walk for men’s health was just the beginning

IT was just a week ago when 30-year-old Zolani Zondani returned to Gqeberha after completing an almost 800km journey to Cape Town on foot, all to raise awareness for men’s mental health. 

In an interview with the Cape Times, he shared his vision for his organisation Broski. 

“Many men are suffering inside because they are carrying their emotions bottled up, the world expects us not to cry like we are human. It’s also as if counselling is not a thing for us. I want to build a space where men will feel the experience of counselling through the unity of brotherhood. Where men can empower one another through sharing their experiences.” Before the 8 day walk which kicked off on October 13, Zondani’s organisation was not yet registered but since arriving back home, he had made progress. 

“I promised the men all over that we will be able to sit down and talk about pressing issues that men go through and I intend to keep that promise. The organisation is now registered. Now I am busy trying to find sponsors because I don’t have a facility.” 

This will also not be his last work, with big plans to next year take on an even longer journey to Johannesburg. 

“For that walk, people will be able to join.” 

Zondani put in a lot of work before embarking on the grueling journey. 

“I’d wake up around 5am and take a morning jog around 5km from where I'm staying. I would jog there and come back and walk so I can motivate myself and my body can get used to running and jogging and walking also. I did that for 38 days before the walk, then I told myself now I'm ready. I also had to prepare my mind first by giving myself motivational talks and getting my body used to walking and running.

Despite mental and physical preparation, the walk remained a challenge for Zondani, who had to silence his thoughts while enduring the pain that tempted him to give up.

“The walk was not easy but at the same time it was not that hard. One of the things I have noticed, all the pain and the doubt, it’s all in the mind. I believe you are not your body, you are not your mind, you are the universe itself. Once your body convinces you that you are hurting, your mind will tell your body to quit. With me I was able to not listen to both of these things but I was walking while I was in pain. One of the things that was difficult, I got to realise there were things that I was struggling with. That's why I've asked for counselling. I also saw my body was not prepared to its full maximum for the walk but I managed to pull through.” 

He explained that he chose the walk as a unique way to highlight an urgent issue and to raise awareness of Broski’s mission, which focuses on men’s mental health.

One of the greatest highlights for Zondani was seeing people smile, being happy to see him and being willing to help.

"I took the walk while I didn't have money. I took the walk with only two bananas and two apples, and one bottle of water. With the help of the people I ended getting things I didnt even have, I ended up giving (to) people who needed on the road. The walk was also about bringing people together, showing that with everything we are going through as people, we are still human and there is still kindness in people."

His biggest inspiration for the walk was his late brother, who died last year and struggled with drug addiction. 

“My brother went through a lot. Life wasn’t fair to him. After we lost our mother, he was taken to live somewhere else, away from us. He was alone while we grew up together on the other side. For example, I grew up with our family, but he was raised by our grandmother’s sister.

When he eventually came back to live with us, he saw that I had already grown and matured in a different way. I think that made him feel distant, and he started to respond differently. By that time, he was no longer in school and was struggling. Growing up without both parents, he was searching for a place to belong.

“As a teenager, he began to see things differently and ended up choosing a different path from mine. In that path, he found people that made him feel comfortable there so he ended up getting involved in drugs. Drugs managed to comfort him and make him feel like the person he thought he was. In exchange for the things he managed to feel through drugs, drugs were taking away his life. So when I lost him, I thought how can I put my pain into a story, into helping people. The pain of losing him and the pain of his struggles and the pain of my upbringing. I noticed it was not only us going through these things, there are people just like us out there and there are people who are in worse situations.” 

This is where the idea of bringing people together to tell their own stories and share their experiences.

Zondani is now trying to raise funds for a facility and other resources to get his organisation off the ground. To support his vision, Zondani can be contacted on 079 521 2733.  

Cape Times