Notties 100: Wits Students Undertake 100 KM Journey to Raise Funds Against Human Trafficking
Johannesburg – The Wits Adventure and Environmental Society (WAES) recently participated in the Notties 100, a 100km trek organized as part of Breaking the Darkness.
This endurance event took place last month on the 18th and 19th of September, aiming to raise funds and awareness for “Unchain Our Children,” a South African organization focused on fighting human trafficking and the exploitation of minors.
The trek wound through the scenic hills of Nottingham Road in KwaZulu-Natal, divided into four segments of 25km each, with a six-hour time limit for completion.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on their side; the first half was drenched in rain, while a shroud of low clouds covered the latter part of the route.
Of the 16 participants who began the trek, only three managed to complete the full 100km, while the others made significant progress along the way.
However, organizers emphasized that the distance was less important than the significance of the day; the sense of camaraderie propelled the group from the first step to the last.
After each 25km stretch, the group engaged in a meaningful ritual central to the event: lighting a candle and composing a letter addressed to someone still facing the type of darkness that this walk sought to address.
For the WAES team, this exercise transformed the day’s experience.
Pushing through exhaustion and inclement weather provided them with a brief, intentional glimpse of hardship, serving as a stark reminder of the far greater struggles endured by survivors of trafficking and exploitation.
The letters became less focused on the walkers’ personal fatigue and more an expression of solidarity: a written acknowledgment that those outside the darkness are thinking of those still trapped within it.
Unchain Our Children, established nine years ago, is dedicated to combating child prostitution, human trafficking, and other human rights abuses, assisting victims in finding safe havens; quiet and ongoing efforts that events like Breaking the Darkness aim to fund and highlight.
For WAES, a society centered around adventure and the outdoors, the Notties 100 was a natural progression of their core mission: facing physical challenges as a team.
Yet, this particular walk imbued that challenge with a purpose that extended beyond the physical trail.
Every blistered foot and rain-drenched kilometer through Nottingham Road became a meaningful gesture of solidarity with individuals whose suffering often goes unnoticed and unspoken.
By the conclusion of the trek, WAES had successfully raised over R26,000 for the cause.
The society aspires for these funds to directly aid in protecting at-risk children and supporting survivors on their journey back to safety, hoping this narrative inspires others to take a closer look at a cause frequently left in the shadows.