The Remembrance walk for me was personal – Ponton
BY GLORIA IRANKUNDA When Alex Ponton arrived in Uganda a decade ago, he likely did not imagine himself walking 51 kilometers in a single day. Known for his entrepreneurial ventures and investments, Ponton had been, like most residents, navigating Uganda’s challenging roadways. This shared experience sparked his interest in the 2024 Joe Walker Remembrance Relay Walk. “I have been in Uganda for ten years now, and I have seen firsthand how road safety is a major issue,” Ponton shares. Participating in the walk was personal. He wanted to do something to raise awareness and contribute to the cause. “About seven or eight years ago,...
Meet the ladies who walked 60km
BY GLORIA IRANKUNDA On November 17, 2024, Stella Kamakune, Resty Nabatte, and Jacqueline Busingye, known as Team Bombastic, took on the challenge of walking 60 kilometres in the Joe Walker Remembrance Walk. Completing the trek in 12 hours and 12 minutes, they share their inspiring journey of endurance and motivation. How did you prepare physically and mentally for the 60km walk? Stella: I’m part of a group where we walk at least three kilometers every day, so exercise is just part of me. Resty: I’d heard that regular walking helps you gauge how far you can go in a day. If you can walk...
The difficult realities of walking on Kampala roads
By David Mujuni As the sun began to rise over our capital city Kampala, a group of determined walkers set out on a 60-kilometre journey. Yes, I know. For many this sounds crazy, but for these walkers, this was something they had eagerly been waiting for. The walk was not only for personal fitness and leisure but to honor the memory of road crash victims and raise awareness about road safety. While most teams wanted to top the relay, team The Panthers (David Mujuni, Doreen Nasasira, Becky Kategaya, Catherine Ageno, Collins Bareija aka Emeka, & Ronald Senvuma), set a goal of making...
Man honours departed brothers in 60km walk
By Belinda Birungi The drizzle and rain on November 19 rain didn't not stop participants like John Ssembogo from taking part in the Joe Walker Remembrance walk. Ssembogo, a member of Team Nkozi, walked the full 60km and he shares what drove him to do that. Tell us a little about who you are. My name is John Ssembogo, born and raised in Kyotera. I'm 29 years old and an Information Technology practitioner. Why did you join the walk? I joined the walk to particularly remember my deceased brothers and to represent the millions of people who lost their loved ones but couldn't make it...
How Team Kisoboka planned, executed and won
By David Mujuni Team Kisoboka emerged victorious in the 60km relay remembrance walk held on November 19th, 2023. The walk was spearheaded by road safety advocate Joe Walker to honour road crash victims. The winning team comprised six members; Hebert Kanyali aka KGB, Alex Hashaka (team leader), Kenneth Asiimwe, Carlos Pambara, Solomon Kobwemi, and Ritah Orikiriza. Two of the team members (Alex & Solomon) travelled from Masaka to Kampala at the crazy hour of 3am to ensure they arrived on time for the event, as Herbert Kanyali narrates. Planning “Right from the start, we selected our members by determining those that would be able...
Participants brave rain to complete 60km Remembrance Walk
By David Mujuni Participants in the Joe Walker Remembrance Road Safety Walk defied many odds on Sunday November 19th, when they completed the 60-kilometre walk aimed at honouring road crash victims. The walkers converged as early as 5:30am at UMA, Lugogo in Kampala ahead of the memorable relay walk spearheaded by road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker. Fired up for the task, several teams composed of six people fronted their starting members who were given batons that they held onto for 10 kilometres before handing them over to the next teammate. The first group hit the road at about...
#JoeWalker clocks 4,000km!
By Joe Walker 20 months ago, I was grappling with the doctor’s instructions to try walking to relieve a stubborn pain in the shoulder blade. The doctor recommended a 30 minute-walk thrice a week. On the first day I walked for an hour, 5 months down the road I was setting out for a 342km road safety walk to Bushenyi and since then I have walked for 4,000km. And, I am still walking. Four lessons over the thousands of kilometers Plan: Taking long effective walks takes a lot of patience, you can’t rush the process. It’s one step at a time. So proper planning and...
Joe Walker set for Kampala road safety drive
By David Mujuni Road safety advocate Mr Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker is set to walk again in another road safety awareness drive. Mr Beyanga has announced that he will be hitting the road for a 45km road safety awareness walk come June 17, 2023, in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. He made the revelation during a road safety awareness Twitter space hosted by Hovita on Tuesday evening. “We are doing Kampala walk on 17th June, Hill to Hill 45 kilometres. We are doing all this for road safety. We have activities like painting zebra crossings, visiting the victims of road crashes, and...
Kampala to Mbale walk: What we saw, heard and how to make our roads safer
The #JoeWalker Kampala to Mbale trek was a different challenge from what we had done earlier. It was a shorter route, but a rough road for half the journey, and had more reckless drivers and harsher weather conditions. It also had however, rich and insightful engagements. Pedestrians As we streamed out of Nakawa eastwards, we were embarking on a rough unfriendly road that would be our cup of tea for the next 125km till we got to Tirinyi Road. With more people walking than cars on the road, the experience of a pedestrian on most of our roads is still a nightmare....
Day Four: A good road with bad users
With tired legs and blisters we were nursing from Day Three, it was a slow start to the day. For the first time, all of us were not present at the agreed meeting time for breakfast and take-off at 6.30am. We eventually assembled, ate and were ready to take off 45 minutes late. By this time, we had covered almost half the distance of the whole journey. We rolled out of Iganga town and onto the highway going eastwards. 5km in, we branched off onto the Tirinyi highway heading towards Mbale. It’s a newly completed road, the driving surface is smooth...
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