Chef walks for more than a week for an aircon

A chef has achieved his dream of raising R15‚000 for a paediatric orthopaedic hospital in Cape Town - all he had to do was walk 429km for it.

Mitchel Bloem‚ from George‚ is just a day away from completing the gruelling walk between his home town and the Mother City.

With a day to spare the 23-year-old had not only reached R15‚000‚ he surpassed it by R71.30.

He is now left with only completing his walk to the Maitland Cottage Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Maitland.

According to his post on Backabuddy‚ a South African based crowd funding website‚ he heard about the hospital needing a new air conditioner for their cerebral palsy patients who are unable to regulate their own body temperature.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Wednesday morning‚ Bloem said he was overwhelmed at the support.

“The people along the way have been amazing and accommodating. [They] are super friendly ... it’s very interesting‚” said Bloem‚ who started walking on August 28.

He hopes that the children he will be helping will have the opportunity to walk‚ go on adventures and live happily.

“I am looking forward to see [the kids] tomorrow‚ it’s going to be awesome‚” said Bloem who works in the US.

“In my travels I have come across many less fortunate individuals who have overcome adversity and found the strength to beat the obstacles and limitations placed on them and I wanted an opportunity to create a meaningful difference.”

Bloem is expected to arrive in Cape Town at 9:30am on Thursday.

According to its website‚ the Maitland Cottage Children's Orthopaedic Hospital with 85 beds‚ is one of two paediatric orthopaedic hospitals in the Southern Hemisphere.

It performs over 550 operations a year and treats 120 patients a month at its clubfoot clinic.

Though it receives grants from the Western Cape government‚ the hospital also asks for donations and volunteers.