Gateway Projects, an organization run by the Fortune family, brought together fitness, fun, and philanthropy on Sunday through its inaugural Footsteps and Finders charity walk in Manzini, raising funds to fight hunger among students.
The five-kilometre scavenger hunt walk aimed to support the Save a Soul Foundation, a student-led organization operating across all University of Eswatini campuses. Proceeds from the event will go towards the Foundation’s mobile soup kitchen, expected to be operational by the end of October, which will provide two meals a day for at least 120 students struggling to afford basic food.
Unlike a standard charity walk, Footsteps and Finders challenged participants to solve clues at 15 checkpoints along the five-kilometre trail. The event drew 32 teams, each with up to five members, who navigated a route with the checkpoints.
At each stop, participants had to solve clues before moving forward, adding an element of teamwork, mental agility, and competition. Prizes were awarded to the first three teams to finish.
According to Save a Soul Foundation, many students on scholarships send their allowances back home to support their families, leaving them with little to cover their food, textbooks, and living costs. The Foundation is on a drive to raise funds for a mobile soup kitchen, expected to be operational by the end of October, to provide two meals a day for the most vulnerable students.
“Some students, especially young women, are resorting to street prostitution to survive,” Mcebo Dlamini, Director of the Foundation, explained. “This initiative will help them focus on their studies rather than worrying about where their next meal will come from.”
Gateway Projects’ vision was to create an event that blended health, fun, and social good. “We wanted to bring health, cause, fun, and everything together,” said Paulette Fortune, Gateway Projects Director.
“We are proud of the turnout for our first event and hope to make this an annual fixture, bigger and better every year.”
Along the route, the Manzini City Seventh-Day Adventist Church played a role as one of the checkpoints. The church is also using the opportunity to invite the community to its Friday evening bonfire fellowship gatherings for the next three weeks, aiming to be a place of refuge and connection for residents in the Moneni area.
The Save a Soul Foundation believes the mobile soup kitchen will offer a long-term answer to food insecurity among students, compared to once-off food parcels that quickly run out.
“The real win was for the 120 identified university students struggling to afford basic meals,” Fortune said.