AUSTRALIAN High Commissioner to South Africa Adam McCarthy has joined countryman Matt Napier for part of his long journey to help end world poverty by walking 2 250km across southern Africa.
Napier began the final leg of his trek with McCarthy, from Pretoria to Maputo, to celebrate International Nelson Mandela Day yesterday.
Napier's mission has been to raise awareness of the importance of reducing poverty around the world through sustainable development.
Part of the Walk to a Better World campaign, his journey has seen him travelling through Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique.
He began his walk on June 4 in Walvis Bay in Namibia and travelled through the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. He is now in South Africa and heading towards the finish line in Maputo on August 3.
He said they recently launched an online pledge to encourage people to donate as little as 1 percent of their income to leading charity organisations to ensure sustainable development projects were well funded.
Funds raised through the online pledge will support the important work of four charity partners.
“I'm hoping to help all Australians better understand the role they can play in ending world poverty in the next generation, and the importance of supporting sustainable development that works hand-in-hand with local communities,” Napier said.
His journey of landing a helping hand to the vulnerable was part of a host of festivities held across the world to celebrate Mandela’s birthday.
In celebrating Mandela’s aspirations to develop the poor and working class; the Directorate of Small-Scale Fisheries is currently undertaking the biggest countrywide registration and verification process that will see small-scale fishers earn legitimacy in the sector. About 23 000 small-scale fishers were already registered and verified from the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.