Birthdays are conventionally celebrated by sharing food, fun and laughter with loved ones and are a perfect time to be thankful for yet another trip around the moon. And on these birthdays, the belle of the ball is usually showered with gifts and praises. However, for her 30th birthday, young and bubbly philanthropist Loretta Mekgwe has set aside her stilettos for trainers, make up for sunscreen and champagne flute for a water bottle as she will be embarking on a personal campaign she named ‘30 for 30.’
’30 for 30′ is a initiative which was conceptualised on the basis of serving the needs of children from underprivileged communities. Loretta intends to walk 30 kilometres as she will be turning 30 years of age (hence 30 for 30), each kilometre representing each one of the years she has been alive to, “Fund a couple of the children’s necessities.” Loretta claims to have developed the concept over half a decade ago, and as she grew older and wiser, she was able to make it a reality.
It is not the first time Loretta has used her birthday and her media personality status to benefit the less fortunate. On her past birthdays she has sky dived for the Mochudi centre for the blind, walked and even just took time to spend time with the children in an effort to bring about positive change in their lives. She is also actively involved in motivational speaking for out of school youths particularly at their alcohol free camps. And she has also once dedicated her free time to teaching Standard 2 children how to write at Matlola Primary School.
The walk is scheduled for July 12th 2016 and the starting point has been decided upon as the Airport Pilane traffic lights to the Morwa turn off (along the A1) right up to the Airport Junction Mall traffic lights, a tarred terrain which is 30 kilometres long.
The public are invited to join Loretta in her quest for empowering the less fortunate and are able to do so by registering prior to the day of the walk at the Cresta President Stair Case (Main Mall), Gabz FM offices (Fairgrounds, next to the office) and Metro Clinic (Middlestar/Diagnofirm).
Being a health cautious person Loretta indicates that only those physically fit will be allowed to partake in the walk and at the end of the walk each participant will be eligible for a free health check performed by the Metro Clinic at the finishing point.
The core mandate of this initiative is to raise funds for the less fortunate thus participants will be expected to donate P10 per kilometre or more and corporate donors will be able to sponsor with P100 per kilometre or more. More information regarding the terms of sponsorship can be found on Loretta Mekgwe social media pages.
Local hip hop artist Thato Matlhabaphiri has officially announced that he will be joining and walking alongside Loretta for this humble ’30 for 30′ initiative.
