The distance from Johannesburg to Durban by car may seem steep to many people, but it is like “small water” for the non-profit organization The Black Child Foundation.
This is proven by the fact that this year, this organization, based in Newcastle, in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, will continue with its idea of a 15-day trip that will start in Johannesburg and end in Durban from September 1 to 15.
The leader of this organization, Mr. Scelo Ndwandwe, said that they felt it was important that they come back this year with the idea of their trip which they will be taking for the fourth time this time. This time they will be aiming to raise awareness about health related to dental and oral hygiene.
This year’s campaign, which they call Smile on the Road, he said they started because they saw that many people, especially young children, have problems with diseases related to teeth, gums and other things that make the teeth and gums not clean.
“On our trip, we will be visiting 15 schools from Johannesburg, and some from other places we will be passing through. We will be encouraging and teaching children about the importance of taking care of their teeth and how to avoid such diseases,” said Ndwandwe.
Continuing, he said that they should ensure that when the trip is over, they will meet and communicate with more than 15,000 people they will meet in schools, different health centers and centers that keep unaccompanied children.
“This idea is driven by seeing the good role you play in the world to teach about different diseases and conditions. In our beginning we partnered with singer L’vovo in 2023, where we traveled from Newcastle to Durban on foot to teach about stroke.
“We did the same thing again in 2024 with the rapper Zola 7, we went from Durban to Johannesburg on foot to teach about epilepsy. Then last year we left Johannesburg and came here to Durban to teach about mental illnesses,” said Ndwandwe.
He said that they will continue with this idea every year and with other different programs because they aim to educate people about different diseases that they ignore and to preach the gospel of living a pure life that will help them live for a long time.