The Sunday News
WHEN professional ranger, Samuel Nkomo embarked on his long and laborious 500km walk to the magnificent Victoria Falls to raise awareness on wildlife — particularly the rhino which faces extinction due to extensive poaching — never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that it would draw so much attention from across the country and beyond.
The walk, which is a first of its kind in Zimbabwe, deemed gruelling but noble because of the cause it aims to achieve, has seen Nkomo draw so much attention from rural communities that are much closer to wildlife than those in urban set ups.
To date he has managed to talk to an estimated 9 000 schoolchildren and adults in various communities he has passed through and aims to reach an even bigger number.
“Initially I thought this would affect urbanites but I have since realised that the message has touched even the hearts of people living in rural communities. So far since I began the walk I have managed to talk to about 9 000 schoolchildren from the various communities that I have visited. By the end of this walk I aim to have changed the hearts of many people in Zimbabwe and perhaps abroad,” he said.
Nkomo said it was important to nurture schoolchildren while they were still young.
“It is wiser to talk to schoolchildren, as they are at the stage of making life changing decisions. The many that I have interacted with want to venture into wildlife conservancy, as they realise that the life of animals is as important as that of a human being.
“Through the talks I have had with them, we share and impart knowledge on wildlife, I derived that many of these schoolchildren are deprived of visiting wildlife sanctuaries because of various challenges. Most of them live near wildlife sanctuaries but have never seen animals such as the rhino or lion.
“It is really disconcerting to realise that people are more concerned about less important issues than that of educating our future leaders and custodians of life about the importance of wildlife,” he said.
Through this walk Nkomo has also managed to attract and capture the attention of local and foreign wildlife enthusiasts, who have also vowed to assist him through the rest of the duration of the walk.
He is scheduled to complete his walk on 18 October this year.
“I have even visited a few wildlife sanctuaries and have had the opportunity to interact with several local and foreign tourists. As soon as they learnt of this walk they all pledged support in various ways, with many walking with me for some distances. I am happy to see that this has raised so much concern,” said Nkomo.
Notwithstanding the scorching heat, Nkomo has braved the long and harsh journey to Victoria Falls on foot.
“As I have mentioned before, this walk is not for my benefit but the benefit of the country. It is an emotional task for me because I really love wildlife and can’t stand seeing animals being inhumanely slaughtered. There is so much positive energy from the people and they are very interested in learning more about the importance of wildlife,” he said.
He said despite the unbearable heat, he was surviving by drinking lots of fluids coupled with a nutritional diet that will provide him energy throughout the walk.
“Indeed it’s hot but because I am on a mission and as I said it is an emotional endeavour, I have braved the sun. I survive the heat through drinking lots of fluids and I am on a special diet. There is a special porridge, which has been donated to us for the trip by e’Pap Technologies. It’s a state of the art nutritional food that helps address ‘hidden hunger’ and to restore one’s energy in a very effective way,” he said.
An e’Pap Technologies distributor in Zimbabwe said: “e’Pap products contain 28 micro and macro nutrients and just one portion per day will help return the body to nutrient replenishment. e’Pap contains some of the most advanced bio available nutritional chemistry known to mankind.
“Normally such technology only gets into the mouths of the ‘rich’ through expensive pharmaceutical tablets. Uniquely, e’Pap cost effectively delivers the same nutritional chemistry into the mouths of the poor and those most vulnerable at an affordable price.”
Nkomo also mentioned that he was organising a 1 000km rhino and elephant awareness walk in China next year.
“I want to walk in China next year. I have already started collaborating with relevant authorities in that regard. Asia is regarded the last destination of the rhino horn and elephant tusk. I want to spread the message across the world about the importance of these earthly creatures. I hope and pray that the message will be heard,” he said.
