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8 marathons in 8 days
16 to 23 October 2021
Stellenbosch to Agulhas

Christo van der Berg Running for Hope| 8 day pilgrimage

Following a debilitating injury to both knees, veteran runner Christo van der Berg has challenged himself to run South Africa’s equivalent of Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Run for Hope is one man’s pilgrimage to run eight marathons in eight days to feed hungry children in South Africa.

Everyone’s on a pilgrimage. Every day we go out into the world and battle our challenges. Some are big, some are smaller, but they’re all significant. Christo's challenge is a knee injury that last year meant he couldn’t even run 100m. He chose to face this setback head-on by running The Pilgrimage of Hope established by Communitas. Not only has he chosen to run the pilgrimage route, but he's also partnered with Solidarity Helping Hand to feed as many of South Africa's hungry children as possible.

"I want to do something much bigger than just myself. You never know what challenges the person next to you may be facing.” At the time of this website going live, Solidarity Helping Hand has applications to provide 12 000 meals a day for hungry children. They currently only have funds and the capacity to feed 8 000 children a day.

The Route

For his pilgrimage, Christo has chosen a well-established route developed by Communitas – a supportive network that guides faith leaders and communities to discover and live their calling. Based at the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University, Communitas began offering guidance on retreats before developing this local pilgrimage.

The Communitas Pilgrimage of Hope route begins in Stellenbosch (with a second starting point in Robertson) before making its way through Franschhoek, Rusty Gate, Wolfkraal, Volmoed, Gansbaai, Elim, and Springfield. The final stretch ends at Africa’s southernmost tip in L’Agulhas.

During his pilgrimage, Christo is visiting the schools and churches at each of the towns he passes through, meeting the locals and hearing the stories of pioneer farmers and their slaves, of prisoners of war who built the roads, and of the region's first inhabitants living in caves along the coast.

Where's Christo?

Run for Hope Pilgrimage 8 marathons in 8 days

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How Can You Help?

To help Christo accomplish his dream, not only in the form of event sponsorship but also to feed as many children as possible along the way, please consider donating R40.00 per plate of food to feed a hungry child.

There are several ways to help:

1. Sponsor the event or make a donation towards event logistics

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2. Donate R40 per plate of food through our payment portal

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3. Pledge food or goods needed by Solidarity Helping Hand

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