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A Namibian woman raising funds for charity has so far covered about 1,700 kilometres by foot. 

Ray Sasman, who walked from the ||Kharas Region, is now in the Kavango East, headed towards the Zambezi Region.

If you've been travelling on Namibian roads for the past three months, you might have seen this woman. 

This solitary figure making her way along various highways is Ray Sasman. 

After training for six months and walking an average of 10 kilometres per day, Sasman was finally ready to walk for charity. 

The cause? To sponsor a youth centre in Walvisbay. She has so far raised N$32,000 and is asking corporate companies to offer a helping hand. 

"They've got the plot; now it needs to be built. Everything that comes in goes directly to the youth centre. And I'm saying if it's M$32,000, it will buy a whole lot of books for a library or something, so wherever and however it can be used, it will be." 

Apart from raising funds for the youth centre, Sasman says she is also walking the 1,800 kilometres from ||Kharas to Zambezi to prove to the Namibian youth that anything is possible. 

"A lot of people say, Oh, no, it's impossible. You can't do it. It will kill you. It will be too long. It will be too difficult. It's too dangerous. And I said it's possible, so I'm doing it because I want to empower the youth of Namibia to stand up and do something for themselves and not wait for someone to do it for them." 

She describes the journey as tough but rewarding, adding that the adventure on foot has transformed her mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

"This road is teaching me there is no room for doubt on any level because the minute I start saying, Oh, that's too far away. Where will I get water? It spirals, so I have to be so positive and just trust that everything will be right and it will work out." 

Preparing for the hike included driving through Namibia to plan the route as well as freeze-drying food and sending it ahead of the trip amongst many other tasks. These were some of the opinions of her loved ones. 

"Mainly supportive, and wow, are you crazy? Are you really doing that? And from my immediate family, especially, it was like, Don't do it! Wait a year, train harder, plan better, and I'm just like, No, I'm not waiting. I'm doing it now." 

All in all, Sasman described the journey as safe, saying Namibians showed nothing but support along the way. 

"I've had no negative encounters at all, except for one snake crawling while sliding over my foot. But that was that."

 

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Photo Credits
Future Media News

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Author
Frances Shaahama