Five men are walking from JHB to the Cape as part of a peace pilgrimage

Braving the elements, five men are currently walking from Johannesburg to Mvezo in the Eastern Cape. Their mission is a simple one. To walk over 900km as part of a peace pilgrimage. Paying tribute to two of the greatest leaders of all time, Mahatma Gandhi and former South African president, Nelson Mandela.

Nitin Sonwane, Yogesh Mathuria, Jalandharnath Channole, Sangram Patil of Indian and Kanshin Ikeda of Japan began their daunting walk on October 2, the 149^th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth. They plan to complete their walk by November 30.

“We planned to do the peace pilgrimage in South Africa, where two great leaders shaped the history of mankind through non-violence,” says Nitin Sonwane.

But why walk such a distance to pay tribute to Madiba and Gandhi?

“Our peace pilgrimage is to share the life message of Gandhi and Mandela while walking in the footsteps of the two great leaders who changed the world by pure love. Both iconic leaders inspired us to work for equality, freedom and justice,” Nitin emphasises.

Furthermore, Nitin explains Gandhi followed his truth to wake human consciousness through his life’s work. Thereby becoming one of the greatest people in history.

The men propose to draw the world’s attention to the two men’s life message and take action for peaceful coexistence, for both mankind and nature.

As these men embark on their epic journey, they are proving that the need for peace is an exceptional one.

Nitin (27) hails from Pune in India. Over the past 23 months, he has travelled across 18 countries and 20 000 km. He explains he is on a mission to spread Gandhi’s message of non-violence to the world.

Ikeda (39) is a Buddhist monk from Japan, whose guru interacted with Gandhi. He himself is a compassionate human.

Jalandhernath Channol (44) is associated with the Gandhi Ashram, Seva Gram in Wardha near Nagpur in India and has been so for the past 28 years.

Sangram Patil (26) is committed to social reforms and is an MBA student. Yogesh Mathuria (61), has dedicated the past 11 years of his life to world peace after working in the global IT industry for 30 years.

The men passed through Newcastle on Wednesday, October 11. Going from town to town to share their joint message of non-violence.

Be sure to keep your eye out for the five men as their continue to their journey. Or follow their journey on Nitin Sonawane’s Facebook page.