While many people ride bicycles for fitness or competition, Madombidzha-born cyclist Gift Mpho Nefolovhodwe is pedalling across South Africa with a far greater purpose – to give disadvantaged children a chance to dream.
The founder of the Gifted Local Talent Foundation (GLTF) left his home village on 16 June (Youth Day) on an ambitious 1,783km journey to Cape Town. His mission is to raise enough money to buy 250 bicycles and helmets for children from rural communities who walk long distances to school and have no access to bicycles for transport or sport.
For Nefolovhodwe, cycling is deeply personal. His love for the sport began around 2007, but growing up in a financially struggling family meant that owning a bicycle remained only a dream. Refusing to let poverty stand in his way, he collected discarded bicycle parts and painstakingly assembled a bicycle piece by piece.
That determination saw him develop into a serious cyclist by 2011, competing in races across Limpopo, including the gruelling Kremetart 176km stage race and the Makopa Challenge.
The same year, he established the Gifted Local Talent Foundation after realising that many talented rural youngsters were being denied opportunities simply because they could not afford bicycles.
“We host cycling events, but the children cannot participate because they have nothing to ride. I want to produce professional cyclists from our rural villages,” he said.
Every day, Nefolovhodwe covers more than 100km, passing through town after town as he heads towards the Mother City. Despite the physical demands, he says each morning begins with prayer, relaxation and a warm-up to prepare both his body and mind for another day on the road.
“I am hopeful that South Africans will support this campaign,” he said.
Travelling with a technical support team led by Molepo Mahlatji and escorted by Khuliso ‘Master Jnr Mbakz’, Nefolovhodwe has been encouraged by the generosity shown by strangers along the route.
“I am grateful for every bit of support I am receiving,” he said. “Every kilometre brings me closer to giving another child hope.”
For Nefolovhodwe, the finish line in Cape Town will not mark the end of a journey, but the beginning of brighter futures for hundreds of rural children. By Wednesday morning, he was about 500km from Cape Town.
For more information, he can be contacted on 078 791 2679, or readers can visit his Facebook pages, Gift Mpho and Gift Nefolovhodwe.