The schedule is meant to avoid clashes with the popular Makgadikgadi Epic. Makgadikgadi Pans Walk started 20 years ago as part of the YCare Charitable Trust’s commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Since the inaugural pans walk which was held in 2003, different corporate institutions have participated in the walks annually to raise money for charity and to foster team work.
The YCare Charitable Trust coordinator, Sarona Moabi, told Arts&Culture that they purposefully moved from the traditional date of the President’s Day holidays to avoid clashes with the Makgadikgadi Epic. He clarified that the change of date is a way to avoid the usual confusion between the day pan walk and the Makgadikgadi Epic event. “We would wish for our corporate participants to attend both events without the excuse of the clashing dates for these events,” he added. Moabi indicated that this year they are celebrating a huge milestone of two decades of doing the pan day walks. He stated that the pans walk will be held on the southern part of Makgadikgadi pans, starting off in Mosu village to Lekhubu Island and back to Mosu. Furthermore, Moabi stated that the goal for this year’s pan walk is to have between 100 and 150 walkers. “We can only take up to a maximum of 150 hikers.
The logistics of running this walk are complex, so we would like our walkers to have the best experience,” he continued. Regarding the sponsorship of the event, he said YCare walks are typically carried out using a proactive sponsorship model and they are still reaching out to corporate teams to participate in the event. The FNB Foundation, which sponsored the day walk for the previous three years, is currently their largest sponsor, he added. He said they expect to raise roughly P650, 000 from the Pans Day Walk, which would be handed over to charitable organisations at the end of the walk.
The YCare Charitable Trust coordinator said the Mosu community is the biggest beneficiary from last year’s proceeds. Additionally, Moabi said they are engaged in a huge development project with their partners, FNB, which he said will be announced soon. Moabi also said they are going to need close to 30 volunteers but the numbers will depend on how many walkers will register to participate during the day walk. “We call our volunteers a “support team”; they are the backbone of the organisation. YCare does not have a single employee, all the duties are executed by volunteers,” he added. He also explained that some of the support team duties extend to looking for sponsors, setting up tents, paramedics and media personnel.
