When one Woodstock man speaks about “Walk for Love”, you can rest assured it’s not a pick-up line.
Instead, it’s an initiative that will aim to bring various communities together.
The Walk for Love initiative is set to be staged at the Vygieskraal Stadium in October and it’s the brainchild of a true community man, Shamil Abbass.
“The idea of the event is to create synergy – to bring back neighbourly love and for communities to take ownership of their areas and to love and care for each other,” said Mr Abbass, who is also the chairman of the Woodstock Community Outreach Forum (WCOF).
The WCOF, which is a registered NPO, was formed in 2012 and launched at the Woodstock Town Hall, which was attended by various representatives of religious sectors in the community, along with Woodstock SAPS, the community police forum and residents of the area.
“It was formed to assist and help communities who had social problems and to uplift the community of Woodstock and to help other communities who had the same issues.The WCOF had to ensure that the community took ownership of their area and that together we will uplift the area for the safety of all residents,” Mr Abbass said.
Proudly speaking about the WCOF, Mr Abbass said it was started by people who realised the need for the forum, a forum they wanted to use as a vehicle to drive community issues and deal directly with ward councillors and council.
Mr Abbass hopes to attract not only the Woodstock community, but all other neighbouring communities.
The walk will take place inside the Vygieskraal Stadium grounds on Saturday October 23, starting from 10am, walking around the sports field, hopefully sparking conversations, bringing to life a vision Mr Abbass has, which is to get communities interacting and “sharing ideas”.
“I envisage to have all communities from all over the Cape Flats present to interact with each other,” he said.
Mr Abbass also called on local businesses to support him in his plight to create better communities. “Let this event be a platform for social upliftment and promote love in all communities,” he added.
For further information, contact Mr Abbass on 071 737 3201.
