Historical Durban HatsOn4CPC Fun Walk

Raising awareness with every step

On a windy Sunday morning, the 27th October 2024, more than 300 adults, children of all ages, babies and even a few dogs donned their hats and showed up to walk a 5 km route along the Durban beachfront promenade to raise awareness of the estimated one million children in South Africa living with life-threatening and terminal illnesses who have a right to receive palliative care.

The Durban HatsOn4CPC (Hats on for Children’s Palliative Care) Fun Walk was a first in South Africa. The national charity, Palliative Care for Children South Africa (PatchSA), and Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children, a Durban based charity providing palliative care support to children and families in KZN, collaborated to host the history making event that started at the Durban Amphitheatre and circled back at the entrance to the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The blustery conditions did nothing to dampen the jubilant spirits of those who pitched at 8 a.m. clutching bravely onto their wonderfully creative hats and raring to go. A group of 45 plus volunteers, dressed in their red Durban HatsOn4CPC Fun Walk shirts and caps, ensured the route was well marked and participants were safe as they headed off into the strong wind and returned just a little faster with the wind at their backs.

DJ extraordinaire, Mr. Allan Chetty, got everyone into the spirit of the day and reminded them of the important cause they had turned up to support. Deadpool made a surprise appearance at the event and boldly led the walkers northwards towards the turning point. He was soon overtaken by a group of young runners from Pacer Training who enthusiastically completed the Fun Walk way ahead of everyone else.

During a short ceremony at the end of the Fun Walk, paediatrician Dr Samantha Govender, the ‘mastermind’ behind the event and recently appointed Chairperson of the Board for PatchSA, thanked all those who had turned up with such enthusiasm in support of the cause of children’s palliative care, saying: “I’m so proud to see so many of you here today. My heart is full of happiness! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Tracey Brand, Director of Umduduzi added her thanks and expressed appreciation to all who had turned up to show how much they care. Before the prize giving commenced, Dr Julia Ambler, Medical Director and co-founder of Umduduzi, thanked all the companies and people who had sponsored so many aspects of this very first HatsOn4CPC Fun Walk.

The list of incredibly generous sponsors the organisers would like to thank include Lactalis for the donation of the volunteer shirts and caps and provision of ice cream for participants, Andre Botha from Mace Safety Solutions for his guidance and ensuring all safety measures were in place for the event, Hirt & Carter for printing of the registration stickers and Start & Finish banner, First Responder KZN for the provision of paramedics, Albie van Loggerenberg from LB Photography for being the official photographer at the event, Allan Chetty for being the MC and DJ for the event, Ashveer Hiralall from Capture It Photography for offering their 360º booth services, Tsogo Sun for sponsoring the winning prize, and many, many others without whom the Fun Walk could not have happened.

Some wonderful prizes, all generously donated, were bestowed on those whom an astute panel of judges deemed to have the best hats on the day, although they admitted that it was ‘a very difficult job indeed’ to choose between so many extraordinary works of art.

Dr Samantha Govender confirms, “This is just the first #HatsOn4CPC Fun Walk, which we plan to be the start of an annual event, not only in Durban, but around the country, raising awareness of the need for greater provision of palliative care for children in South Africa.”

PatchSA and Umduduzi would like to formally thank the following people and companies for their most generous sponsorship and support:

Massive thanks to the amazing team of organisers

Back from L to R: Jane Brown, Taskeen Ameer, Michelle Norman, Pam Chetty, Tracey Brand, Sue Boucher, Mary Soobramoney Front from L to R: Jivanesh Chetty, Julia Ambler, Tracy Rawlins, Samantha Govender

An event like this does not happen without an enormous amount of effort and coordination behind the scenes. With very little in the way of experience or expertise, a small group of passionate and enthusiastic people worked extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure the success of the day. We are immeasurably grateful to the following AMAZING people for their time, their efforts and their sheer determination to hold the very first HatsOn4CPC Durban Fun Walk:

Grateful for every volunteer

Far too many to mention, we would lastly like to thank every single volunteer who showed up and made sure the day was an enormous success. We could not have done this without you! We hope to see you next year.