BY OBERT SIAMILANDU Zimbabwean conservationist, Nick Holmes who is based in the United Kingdom will today launch an 800km walk, which will last for two months to promote mental health issues.
The walk will begin in Zimbabwe and end on the Zambian side of the border.
He will walk the stretch of Lake Kariba over a period of two months starting on the 31st of July 2022.
Nick’s walk will allow him to go deeper into communities and to interact with community members and leaders who are on the frontline of community health issues.
During his walk he will also interact with nature. The core of his campaign is to explore the link between human nature and mental health.
Addressing the media at the launch of his walk at the Kariba Dam wall today, Holmes said: “The Walk4life campaign is the beginning of this journey of trying to establish global awareness about mental health issues, conservation and the link between nature and conservation. We saw this when COVID-19 hit globally, people were locked in their houses and homes and they suffered mentally.”
He said people missed walking in their streets, going to their workplaces and normal life.
“We created the Walk4life brand to raise awareness on mental health issues; not just in Zimbabwe and Zambia, but also globally. This is also part of a long term process and desire to create something we call “TERRA” which stands for Training Education Research Rehabilitation and Awareness. We need to make sure we train communities on mental health issues, conservation and how to manage wildlife,” he said.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Nick is a third generation Zimbabwean. He now lives in the UK, from where he has been promoting investment into Africa, with a particular focus on Zimbabwe and the greater Southern African Development Cooperation region.
As a Zimbabwean farmer, he was the first chairperson of the farming community’s National Environment Committee and sat on the boards of a variety of organisations, among them an agricultural training institute and a local hospital.
Over the years Nick has gained a wealth of experience around the world. He has built a solid network in the corporate, financial and political sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Commonwealth.
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