By Damian Jutzi
On 1 June, runners will gather to face the Slave Route Challenge, a race tracing the historical slave route and honouring those who have built our beautiful city.
My passion for running started in my teenage years back home in Switzerland. After I moved to Cape Town 1.5 years ago, I found back to my old love. Running gives me a feeling of freedom and calmness that I can’t find anywhere else. That’s why I’m so excited for the race.
It is important that we all bear in mind the integral part slaves play in shaping Cape Town into the wonderful place it is today. While slavery was abolished over 300 years ago, it still exists in its modern form: exploitation and human trafficking.
This takes place around the globe and probably closer than many of us like to acknowledge. A major problem here in Cape Town is the lack of job opportunities and stable employment, which leaves survivors vulnerable to being exploited again.
Trying to combine my passion with a good cause, I decided to run the half marathon to support trafficking awareness. With every kilometre, I aim to raise $200 in support of Not I But We to create meaningful jobs so survivors can rewrite their stories. The Cape Town-based social enterprise is committed to seeing wholeness & healing for women survivors. Through skills training and dignified employment in a trauma-informed work environment, women survivors of trafficking and GBV find a place where they can heal, learn, and thrive.
Meaningful jobs have the potential to not only reduce vulnerabilities but create lasting change in survivors’ lives. And it’s an honour to be able to contribute towards such an important cause with the money I raise. This Friday, it’s a little more than two weeks until race day. So far, I’ve raised over 17,000 Rand, and I’m excited to see what the next two weeks will bring.
You can learn more about the social enterprise here: Running for trafficking survivors
On 1 June, runners will gather to face the Slave Route Challenge, a race tracing the historical slave route and honouring those who have built our beautiful city.
You can learn more about the social enterprise here: notibutwe.com
If you want to join Damian Jutzi in making a difference in survivors’ lives, consider giving towards the fundraising campaign here: Running for meaningful jobs for survivors.
