By Mandisi Majavu
PAUL COLEMAN'S main mission in life is to raise awareness of the need to care for Mother Nature, so it seems. He has walked more than 37 000km through many countries around the planet, raising awareness of the need to care for the earth by planting trees and sustaining resources.
He was planting trees in Soweto this week, six months after an earlier visit for the same purpose.
In 1990, he walked from Canada to South America in an attempt to draw attention to the first Earth Summit in Rio. And during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Sandton last year, Coleman planted an olive tree at Ubuntu Village to symbolise a peaceful and fruitful conference.
On Wednesday, Coleman, with patients and the medical staff of Chris Hani Baragwanath, planted a tree in the grounds of the hospital in honour of the terminally ill patients and people living with HIV/Aids.
From there he went to Pimville Clinic, where he planted another tree. He planted two more in Sohomo - Soweto Mountain of Hope - as a symbol of hope for people living with HIV/Aids.
"Each time he planted a tree, he spoke and emphasised the point of preserving Planet Earth," says Nomvula Dlame, spokesperson for region 10, where the tree planting took place.
Planting the trees with Coleman were the Gauteng MEC for agriculture, Mary Metcalf and chief directory of forestry, Linda Mossop.
