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Neesha Fakir

Walk for Survival

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Reach My Goal

Raised

$153

My Goal

$1,000

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My Activity Tracking

610
kms

My target 2000 kms

I'm fundraising for...ActionAid's work for survivors of SHEA and GBV

I am joining ActionAid’s global march to help those hit hardest by Covid-19 and demand a fair, healthy future for all of us. We’re asking leaders to prioritise workers, communities and the planet, not CEOs and shareholders. Please sponsor me and show your support.

My Achievements

Hit fundraising target!

Hit 50% of fundraising target

Hit 5km!

Shared page

Reached distance goal

Posted a blog post

My Updates

Poem for those who don't survive GBV

Wednesday 17th Mar

“Does it have to take the death

Of a woman, for a community

To awaken

Her sisters, brothers, & parents

Left her forsaken,

Every time he called

She would beckon.

And it left us all unshaken

Sometimes treated with trivial levity

Always complicit in their inactivity,

And now they await the straw that broke

The camel’s back.

Does it have to take the threat of murder of someone

For a community, to listen.

For them to show any opposition.

Why are we inherently wired?

To respond to the last proposition

Until it happens.

Then we can all batten

Down the hatches!”

`NF`

 

 

A Poem for International Women's Day

Wednesday 10th Mar

On International Women’s Day

 

“Some of us had to be the strong woman

That we had to look up to

 be our own consort,

Some of us only had ourselves to plot

 against the world and take up the ammunition

and be the guardrails of abolition,

To participate, to invigorate

But never to dissipate

and wither away.

How could I be expected to betray

This fire that sets me alight.

To be relegated to the confines of my aspirations,

These profound and incendiary acclamations

On International Women’s Day

Reminds me that for some this will just be a day

And that someday this may Segway

In a New Dispensation

For a different proclamation

It won’t set all our setbacks aright

But it might be the first light

To charting a new course

Where we are not just 50% of the workforce

But an altogether different force of nature

This is my only wish for all on this day

May you always seek to conquer

The forces that prevent you from reaching your valor

May it bring to light a new candor!”-

`NF`

Support for survivors continues unabated

Sunday 15th Nov
Our "post-Diwali binge" trail- run continued. There are no shortcuts in the journey towards ending GBV and SHEA, there are no shortcuts to achieving justice for survivors, there are no shortcuts to getting survivors the right quality support they need. Here is to all survivors who have to sit at the same table, as their perpetrators and abusers, over Christmas, Diwali, and other auspicious holidays. 

Here are to survivors, whose pensions and livelihoods are still tied to their abusers- who once professed undying love. Here is to survivors who are often endearing protracted and unending conflicts with their families. Here is to all survivors who strive relentlessly for the support and believability of their families. And here is to all survivors who find the will to live, in spite of insurmountable obstacles. I walk for you.  As we say back home in South Africa, Malibongwe. 

Abundant gratitude to my husband and my in-laws for generous contributions. I love you all deeply and without equivocation. 

Finally to my little Echo, for braving the scorching Joburg heat, I love you, baby girl.

A bittersweet two weeks but we ended it on a great note

Saturday 7th Nov
Johannesburg is resplendent in summer, with a sea of purple Jacarandas amassing our streets, in droves and doves. We decided to brave the scorching heat and hike with Echo, in the countryside. It was verdant and a stunning landscape with a steep and challenging climb that was completely worth it.

These past two weeks were bittersweet, I will get to why later on. On a more upbeat note, we completed our much-anticipated Investigations for SHEA training. We formed a diverse group of Investigators for the Investigator Network. To say that our work is cut out for us is an understatement. 

The clamour to put an end to SHEA is moving onward and upward in the ActionAid family. Hiking was a release for me, because, I feel that the epidemic of GBV and SHEA is so widespread that sometimes I doubt if we can make a dent. 

Hiking in the wild, makes me feel that I can have some semblance of structure and control, in the midst of global chaos. The past week's training was definitely a testament to the fact that in our numbers, as a collective, we can galvanize dynamic actors for change to pick up the baton and continue the mantle. I am invigorated and charged with a new fashion, by our new Investigator Network and I have full faith that we will continue to make our work safe, for all we serve and give power to survivors. There is an old African proverb which goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together". 

I want to pay tribute this week to my long-standing, life-time feminist- hero, torchbearer, anchor, and mother-hen, Ms. Nomcebo Manzini, who passed away from a battle with cancer. You did not go gentle into that good night. She  was an avid hiker and a global champion for gender equality. O captain, My Captain, our fearful ship is not done. I pick up the baton and hope to move mountains for feminism, in your name. 

Pezu Mkono!


Walking for a Purpose

Thursday 29th Oct
I have been hiking and trail running with my dog Echo. We are in this endeavour to amplify our survivor centred approach to ending Sexual Abuse and Exploitation and Gender Based Violence. We hope to draw attention to the power that survivors have as agents of change. Echo is a four year old dog who accompanies me on my hikes and trail runs. Recently we have been running in a forest which has plenty of little lakes and trails and it is a lovely time of year in Johannesburg, with the blooming of the Jacaranda trees. I feel like hiking and trail running is not only a copious form of stress management, but it also enables me to reclaim my power back as a feminist. Working in SHEA and Safeguarding, we are faced with many challenges with survivors who experience endemic violence and harassment. Walking enables me to rationalise my thoughts and responses and to be more effective as a supporter to survivors. Walking, Hiking and Trail Running brings me closer to my purpose with ActionAid and helps me to identify ways to overcome challenges that we face in our work.

Thank you to my Sponsors

$53

Byron Gomes

So proud of you. Hope to join you on your walks soon.

$26.50

Diane

Well done Nisha! Keep it up.

$26.50

Peter Hampshire

Well done Nisha.

$26.50

Tim Gomes

Great cause. Keep walking.

$20

Charles And Sue

Good luck with the walk and the fundraising