#SolidarityWalk

Join us for what promises to be an extraordinary #FirstThursdayNightWalk themed #SolidarityWalk to promote peace, mutual care, and a shared concern for justice in the world. 

This time we meet at @FoodZone in Lakeview Dlamini Soweto opposite Regina Mundi at 6pm

Stops for the next walk include:

Regina Mundi - the largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa that can accommodate as many as 7000 people, located in Rockville Soweto. Regina Mundi played a pivotal role in the struggle against apartheid. Since political meetings in most public places were banned, the church became the main place where Soweto agitators against apartheid could meet and plan, eventually collectively toppling an unjust regime. 

Thokoza Park - situated just a block away from Regina Mundi, incorporating Moroka Dam, the park has maintained its status as a prime attraction in Rockville Soweto. The well-used park covers 4,5 hectares.

It proudly shows off Soweto's first fountain, set in well-manicured lawns, with paved footpaths and pretty, rock-strewn streams which gently meander to Moroka Dam. The dam was named after Dr James Moroka, a former president of the ANC who spearheaded the move towards militancy in the early 1950s.

The World War II Soweto Museum - learn about South Africa’s role in the First and Second World Wars, and about the 80,000 black South African soldiers who served in the Native Military Corps (NMC). After the war, they were given bicycles and boots, and sometimes a suit, as a reward. White soldiers received housing and land.

Book your ticket now!

The #FirstThursdayNightWalk initiative is a collaborative effort, in partnership with NPC @WeUprising and @june16ydf.

Every 1st Thursday of the month, we host an evening walk & dinner at 1 of the 32 different sub-economic townships that make up Soweto. By actively participating in these walks, we’re not only supporting local businesses and creating employment opportunities but also encouraging youth and community engagement in national development. Through these unique routes, carefully designed to educate and entertain, we’re proud to showcase the rich history of Soweto to the world. 

#FirstThursdayNightWalk with #FunkItImWalking #letswalktofreedom #werisetogether

Our ticket includes

• Night Tour
• Dinner
• Drinks
• Special guest
• Special performance

#FunkItImWalking aims to make it safe for a woman to walk at any time in any condition. Founded circa. 2014, #FunkItImWalking began as an alternative form of protest against insecurity and general lack of safety for women in South Africa. Having experience the stark differences in community safety worldwide, #FunkItImWalking founder Nomsa Mazwai aka Nomisupasta declared, 'amidst all of this fear, #FunkItImWalking". Nomsa recognised the benefits of walking from health to community safety to economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.

In 2020, #FunkItImWlaking launched night walks in an effort to reclaim the streets in order to enable safety. Having been part of the International Class at the East Side Institute in New York Nomsa was exposed to the idea of transformative performance (see Fred Newman and Lois Holzman, Dan Friedman). Having also completed an Ma in International Political Economy and Development at Fordham University and on the ground experience in the Eastern Cape, Nomsa began to imagine how the performance of safety could enable safety in a community, and how safety impacts economic development and the environment needed for economic opportunity.

These night walks evolved into what is now a night tourism product which employs at least 10 people and pumps no less than R2500 into a local restaurant. Soweto is a tourism destination with over 300 000 annual visitors, very few of whom spend the night or even stay beyond sunset. This while Soweto enjoys its best weather in the evenings and has heritage sites across its entire geography.

Working closely with Community Policing Forums, the night walks have performed well to its audience and community members are becoming more aware of the tangible economic value fo safety.

Our partners are #WeUprisingMovement and the June 16 Youth Development Foundation where a special relationship was formed with Seth Mazibuko who assisted in curating each walk to carefully include sites of historical relevance to the June 16 youth uprising.