Paul Steyn sets off on a 7000km walk to help amputees
Paul Steyn, a Gordon’s Bay local and founder of The Paul Steyn Foundation, has set off on a grueling seven-thousand kilometre walk across South Africa to raise awareness for prosthetics.
Steyn, himself an amputee, feels that he has the capacity to make a difference in the lives of other people in a similar situation as he is in. He has already walked about 5000km since February 2012, and has assisted nine amputees with prosthetic legs.
On Monday, 3rd August, Steyn embarked from the V&A Waterfront on what he calls his “biggest challenge yet”. The 7000km walk will go through all nine provinces of South Africa and take 13 months to complete. “First over the Cape Peninsula down to Durban, Durban to Bloem, Bloem to Joburg, Mpumalanga and Limpopo back to Pretoria, North West Province to Springbok, the West Coast to Stellenbosch, and from Stellenbosch we finish again at the V&A.”
“On this walk I will not have a back-up vehicle for most of the route. That means that if I find myself between towns when the sun sets, I will have to camp right there where I find myself. I do, however have a companion that will walk with me, my brother Francois. Francois, who is sixteen, has dropped out of school. When he said he wanted to walk with me, I did not hesitate at all. Instead of finding himself idle with nothing to do, because, let’s face it, he is not going to get a job at his age, he can stay out of trouble this way, and have the most extraordinary adventure ever.”
To keep up-to-date with Paul’s journey; as well as learn more about the plight of amputees and the cost of prosthesis, visit his website.