DUT alumnus to walk 1 600km for housing dignity after aunt’s death

A deeply personal loss has sparked a bold 1 600km journey across South Africa, as a Durban University of Technology alumnus prepares to walk from Durban to Cape Town in a call for dignified housing. Wandile Mthiyane will begin the 60-day trek on June 16 alongside friend and community builder Tshepo Mathekga, covering about 27km a day without rest. The initiative, titledWalk for Home, aims to highlight the country’s housing crisis while raising funds for Ubuntu Home, a platform designed to help people design, finance and build homes with dignity.

For Mthiyane, the journey is rooted in lived experience and grief. “This walk is for her and for every South African still living in conditions that do not uphold their dignity. My aunt passed away last month in the same mud-brick house she was born in, after 25 years on a housing waiting list,” he said.

I am walking because dignity should not be something people wait decades for. Growing up in KwaMashu, Mthiyane experienced the challenges of inadequate housing firsthand. He shared a two-room home with five others, where rain seeped through the walls and limited space made studying difficult.

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His academic path, from studying Town and Regional Planning at DUT to completing further studies in the United States, has shaped his understanding of how housing systems affect communities. He has since been accepted into Harvard University’s Master in Design Engineering programme, where he plans to further develop Ubuntu Home.

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