Raymond Mtati believes in walking the talk.

He’s an activist from Green Park – a poverty-stricken township near Driftsands – and has spent years advocating for better living conditions in his area. But this time, he plans to walk to Johannesburg to raise money for his community – even though he’s used crutches since a gunshot disabled him in the ’80s.

“There’s a lot of poverty and unemployment [in Green Park],” he says. “It becomes so difficult because there’s no access to basic things. There’s no electricity, and paraffin is so expensive and dangerous. Here, houses have burned down because of cooking with paraffin. And in cases of flooding, people would lose their food, or their clothing and blankets would be damaged.”

It’s a tough trek. Johannesburg is about 1 400 km from Cape Town, which would ask a lot of even an athlete in peak condition. Raymond’s journey will be harder, of course. But apparently, it’s all the same to him.

“It should take 24 days to a month, looking at my capability because I’m on crutches,” he comments. “The intention is to use both my crutches and a wheelchair. Yes, in terms of security it’s challenging. But I’ve got the passion and the drive. But I would love for people in towns to put tents together so that I could be safer and have some place to swop ideas with people.”

He’s also counting on the generosity of South Africans to provide the finances for his community’s improvement.

“I’m looking at the corporate and private sector people who will identify with the struggles of the people. We want to put the money into a community hall, an after-school project, and someone to teach self defence to women and children. We are also aiming to make biogas and solar power available to people.”

Never one to scoff at a good cause, Raymond hopes to reach Johannesburg on December 3, to observe the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“I would like to link with any organisation in Joburg that is dealing with disability issues,” he says.

Raymond plans to start his walk on Tuesday, November 3 at 02h00. Anyone interested in providing him with resources like tents, food, water, spare crutches, wheelchairs or cellphone chargers can contact him on 078-556-9631. He also plans to record stories from people kind enough to help him on his journey, for a book about what people can learn from each other’s struggles.