In most cases, people undertake long-distance adventures for personal fulfilment, to test their endurance or simply as a hobby. But for a South African humanitarian adventurer James Shuping Setshogelo, popularly known as Jimmy Walker, every kilometre he walked is driven by a mission to confront some of Africa's deepest social challenges.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Generation on Tuesday, Walker said his 12,800-kilometre journey from Cape Town to Cairo was less about reaching the destination and more about giving a voice to communities often forgotten.
At the time of the interview, Walker was in Kenya, the eighth country on his expedition, and said the trek was not about setting a record but about listening to ordinary Africans, amplifying the voices of vulnerable communities and connecting them with practical solutions.
The expedition, which began on September 7, 2025, after nearly a decade of planning, had already taken him through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya.
South African humanitarian adventurer James Shuping Setshogelo during his walk in Tanzania. PHOTO/Setshogelo.
From Kenya, he hoped to continue through Ethiopia before heading north to Egypt, although conflict in Sudan had forced him to rethink his original route. For Walker, the journey was deeply personal.
"I'm initially a victim of the social ills that we can say gender-based violence. I grew up in a very abusive family," he said.
Rather than allowing that experience to define him, he said it had inspired him to become part of the solution.
"It motivated me to be determined to really do something because I so believe staunchly that men are the solution when it comes to this social ill," Walker said.
Jimmy said that belief formed the foundation of his campaign, whose first pillar was fighting gender-based violence and femicide while encouraging men to speak out instead of remaining silent.
His other priorities include promoting peace and unity across Africa, youth empowerment through sport and skills development, and advocating for the inclusion of people living with disabilities.
Walker said many African communities still hid children born with disabilities because of stigma.
"As an African man, we need to reform our minds and start to open those doors, start to open those gates, and give them a better opportunity," he said.
He believed every child deserved the chance to fulfil their potential regardless of disability. Unlike many advocacy campaigns centred in cities, Walker deliberately spent most of his time in villages.
"As you walk, you have no choice but to stop by villages, stop by places and homesteads where I start to tell people who I am and why I am walking," he explained.
During these visits, he met chiefs, community leaders, schools and local organisations before spending time with people affected by the issues he campaigned for. Walker said he focused on helping communities identify practical answers to their own problems.
"I am the voice to the voiceless. I'm a son of the soil. It means the problem is my problem," he said.
He described his approach as "the walk and talk", saying genuine conversations often revealed challenges that outsiders would never notice.
"I don't judge a book by its cover," he said. "I go into the village and start to talk, and that's when I analyse what's really happening."
In one Zambian village, he found young men spending their little income on alcohol while complaining about unemployment. After challenging them to redirect their money into farming instead, local leaders helped establish a small investment group that later produced its first maize harvest.
"That's how I really get to know if a person really needs help," he said. "The hard questions help you understand what's happening in that community."
Walker admitted the journey had not been without difficulties, citing encounters of suspicion and resistance when arriving in unfamiliar communities, but said attitude often determined the response.
"I don't believe in negative energy. I believe in positive energy," he said. "After a few minutes, people realise I'm there to help."
His biggest logistical challenges involved crossing international borders. While his South African passport had generally allowed him relatively easy travel, he suspected Ethiopia would be the first country where he might face extensive questioning and visa costs.
Despite the administrative hurdles, Walker said his experience travelling across Africa had strengthened his conviction that Africans had more in common than what divided them, a belief that shaped his views on xenophobia.
South Africa had experienced repeated attacks targeting foreign African nationals in recent years, but Walker rejected the notion that such hostility reflected African values.
"Xenophobia is not African," he said. "We have missed the mark from the unity and peace of Africa."
He argued that stronger continental unity would reduce tensions created by colonial-era borders and divisions.
"We need a United States of Africa, whereby Africa and African countries become one."
Walker insisted his expedition was not a fundraising campaign but a mission to gather first-hand experiences from communities often overlooked by policymakers.
"The walk is a solution," he said.
Once he reached Cairo and returned home, he hoped to present his findings to South African authorities, regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and other continental institutions.
"I'll not be telling stories," he said. "I'll be saying the truthful story that I've experienced walking through those villages."
For Walker, every kilometre was another opportunity to listen, learn and advocate for people whose struggles rarely made headlines.
"My work is to hear the untold stories of Africans—how they suffer, how they live and how they encounter problems," he said. "When I go back home, I want those voices to be heard."