Zolani Zondani’s epic trek from Gqeberha to Cape Town wins hearts and raises thousands for his non-profit organisation
Peter Luhanga
- Zolani, 30, walked for eight days in scorching heat and wind to raise money for his group Broski, The Living Experience.
- His brother Athenkosi, 26, who died in 2024 after a long struggle with drugs, inspired the walk.
- Zolani raised R15,000 from the walk, with nearly 50,000 people following his journey on social media.
Motivated by the memory of his brother who died after struggling with substance abuse, Zolani Zondani walked 750 kilometres from Gqeberha to Cape Town to raise money for a non-profit organisation he founded to support young men facing addiction and mental-health challenges.
The 750km trek in memory of Athenkosi Zondani raised R15,000 for Zolani’s organisation Broski, The Living Experience. It also created awareness of drug addiction and mental illness, and served as a personal act of remembrance.
When he arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday, 21 October after having set out eight days earlier Zolani, from Soweto-on-Sea in Ebhayi, was exhausted but smiling, as supporters who had followed his journey online gathered in the city centre to welcome him.
The next day in Dunoon, nurse Xoleka Kambi, who runs the private Kambi Health Solutions (KHS) Clinic opposite the taxi rank, administered a Jet Fuel vitamin drip – a mixture of B12 and thiamine used to restore energy, valued at R550 – free of charge in support of Zolani’s mission.
Kambi said she was pleased to help a man whose walk had inspired hope among many.
Zolani said the journey took eight days through heat, wind and long, empty roads, walking close to ten hours each day.
He said when darkness fell and towns were too distant to reach, he hitchhiked to nearby places of safety.
He said supporters tracking his progress on social media often offered him accommodation, and in some cases covered the cost. Each morning, after resting in the nearest town, he resumed his journey from there, pressing on toward Cape Town.
For Zolani, the walk was personal. He did it for his younger brother who died after getting trapped in drugs, and for every man fighting that battle.
He said the trek was his way of turning pain into purpose and proving that it is never too late to get help.
Part of his mission, he said, was to help people understand and believe in his organisation, a task he finds difficult in an age of scepticism toward new community projects.
He named it Broski, a slang twist on the word “brother,” when he founded it in 2020.
The organisation, he said, aims to offer a safe and honest space for men to connect, listen and heal together, even when they come from different walks of life.
“I want to bring back humanity. I want to close the gap between men, the privileged and the less privileged, the fortunate and the unfortunate. We are all human, even though we have different experiences and backgrounds. I want to create a space that fosters understanding among men and builds meaningful friendships, which is something we lack,” said Zolani.
He wants to host personal and group sessions for men, providing skills, support and guidance to help them stand on their own feet.
He said he hopes the programme will help men turn their lives around and set a better example for others in their neighbourhoods.
He said nearly 50,000 people followed his journey on social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook, platforms he also used to request donations.
Additional pledges, he said came from people he met along the way and after he arrived in Cape Town.
“I was walking alone. I met five kids in Riversdale who walked with me from Riversdale to Heidelberg, dubbed ‘Team No Rest’,” he said.
Among those who welcomed Zolani at the Grand Parade in Cape Town was Thobeka Pikin, a Dunoon resident and mother of two, who had waited for three hours to meet him.
Pikini later helped gather support for him at the Kambi Health Solutions Clinic in Dunoon so that others could understand and support his cause.
She said she felt moved to help after seeing his story on social media because her own brother had struggled with theft and substance abuse. He had spent time in and out of Pollsmoor Prison and once escaped before being turned in by the family.
She said her brother died in 2021 from substance abuse-related illness, a loss that, she said, made her identify deeply with Zolani’s journey.
“Men believe they have to be strong and fix everything on their own. Many are struggling but don’t know where to turn for help. So much focus is on women now, and he is trying to open spaces where men can speak freely,” said Pikini. Pikini said she saw Zolani off at Cape Town International Airport last Saturday after supporters came together to arrange his ticket home
